Barbarossa
by BebopSwing1917
Summary: A realistic and historically accurate account of the Eastern Front of World War II through the eyes of the nation personifications which were effected by it, with loads of characters from both Hetalia and Nyotalia. Be warned this story is rated mature for violence, language, and mature themes.
1. June 22, 1941 Part 1

A/N: Hello! Welcome to my story, a rather ambitious project in which I hope to write a realistic historically accurate account of the Eastern Front of World War II from the perspective of our favorite personifications, because of the scope of this conflict this story will contain many many characters from both Hetalia and Nyotalia. I will also refer to them with their human and country names interchangeably though I will do my best to keep it from getting too confusing. At the same time because I want this story to be realistic many characters won't be portrayed in the stereotypical way they are usually portrayed, Russia is not going to go 'kolkolkol' or carry his pipe all the time, Belarus won't be chasing after Russia, and so on. In other words what I wish to do it have the characters act as if they actually existed during this conflict in the real world. If this is a problem for someone then I don't recommend they continue. (Though I hope everyone would give it a chance.) I must also warn that this story will not shy away from the harshness of the time, World War Two, and the Eastern Front especially, was one of the bloodiest conflicts in recent history and there are hundreds upon hundreds of conflicting accounts and stories thus I will do my best to stay accurate. So, lets see if my experiment works out and thank you.

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><p>"Did you hear me Comrade Braginsky?" the secretary asked, his voice sounding small and shrill as it came through the telephone. Russia sat in silence, his mind still trying to process the news he had been given mere moment's ago. "We're at war with Germany!" Those were the words which had been shouted into his ear when he answered the call that had jolted him out of his sleep five minutes ago. Turning his eyes to the clock hanging next to the calendar Ivan noted the time, 04.00 hrs, the date- June 22, 1941. <em>Sunday...he attacked me on Sunday, the traditional day of rest. The Hitlerite Fascist bastard<em> Ivan thought, his chest tightening as he felt his throat close up. How could Ludwig have done this to him? After he had gone out of his way to keep the German government at bay, his boss had even ignored the advice of his generals to strengthen the troop presence at the border, just in case the Germans mistook it as a threatening gesture._ And for what? The cowardly bastard attacked anyway!_

Ignoring the voice asking if he was still on the line Ivan slowly placed the telephone receiver back onto it's cradle, "God..." he groaned, "Good God we've been dragged into another war..." Feeling panic welling up inside of him Ivan was quick to wipe the feeling away, he couldn't panic now, he couldn't but it was so hard not to. Fighting back the worry Russia began to pace the room, trying to collect himself so he could think clearly, to keep himself from over reacting; but the more he tried the more upset he became. Not only because of the horror he felt of dealing with another war but also the anger he felt at how unfair the whole situation was. After all that he'd been through, the Great War, The Revolution, The Civil War, The complete reversal of the new Soviet State from an agrarian society to an industrial powerhouse, (All having unimaginable costs) didn't he deserve a moment of rest? _We just started to reap the rewards of our progress and now all the work is going to be destroyed by war! Those God damned Fascist scums are now going to trample our fields, burn our cities and kill our people!_ Unable to handle the full weight of this crisis Ivan slammed his fist into the wall of his bedroom and felt a crack in his fingers. Cursing loudly he pressed his hand to his body muttering to himself.

He cursed everyone and everything, not caring who might hear his language and his rage. It was just too much for him, too unfair, too cruel, why was his land always being invaded by some other power which couldn't live well enough in it's own borders.

Leaning against the wall he slowly slid to the floor and sat in the darkness alone. "Oh who am I kidding..." he whispered. "I always knew he would attack, that damn Austrian Corporal who's playing emperor always wanted to attack me. He even wrote it all down in his damned book." Though he understood that war with Germany was inevitable, in the back of his mind Russia had always hoped that maybe, just maybe, Hitler would reconsider his plans. Maybe he could see that invading the Soviet Union was a mistake, but then again Ivan always hoped such things. When Napoleon was ravaging Europe the Tsars were also eager to sign a non-aggression pact with the little monster, and just like now in June of 1812 the French crossed his border; before that the Swedes had invaded from the North, before that the Poles though themselves Slavs had happily invaded when Ivan was still young and weak. Weak from yet another damned invasion he spat and cursed the Mongolian Hordes which had ravaged him so long ago. It all seemed quite unfair to Ivan Braginsky, yet foreign powers never seemed to stop trying to either invade or push him into a corner.

Just then the telephone rang loudly, cutting into his thoughts and snapping him back to reality. Sighing he stood and went to the ringing machine, "Hello?" he answered, trying to keep his voice steady. "Comrade Braginsky, this is Molotov."

Ivan felt the hair on the back of his neck stand on end, "Yes Comrade Foreign Minister, I'm listening,"

"Comrade Braginsky, I was informed that your connection had been cut during the last call which had been placed to your residence. I was calling to see if you can still be reached and to inform you that in light of the events which have transpired we need you're presence in the Kremlin immediately. I have already sent a car for you."

Russia took a deep breath and exhaled slowly, "Yes, of course Comrade Molotov, thank you." With that he hung up once more and turned to his closet, ignoring his throbbing fingers Ivan went to get dressed. After a few minutes of riffling through the clothing he decided that he would much rather wear something comfortable, yet formal enough not to seem disrespectful, and thus chose a simple pair of slacks with a button up long sleeved white shirt and tie. Despite the heat outside, he also slipped on a black cotton suit jacket, "Good. Perfect." he muttered to himself after a quick peek in the mirror hanging in the bathroom. Ignoring the messiness of his hair Ivan grabbed his keys, wallet, lighter, and cigarettes before leaving to wait for the government car which was picking him up.

The wait lasted half an hour, or two cigarettes, before a dark squat car carefully pulled up to the curb, it's engine purring softly, "Are you Braginsky?" asked the driver, a young man in a military uniform.

"Yes I am."

"I'll need some papers to make sure. Protocol you see."

Ivan nodded with a sigh and fished out his his identification papers from the wallet, as well as his residential registration documents which listed the apartment he lived in and with whom; in his case he lived alone. Taking the papers the driver quickly confirmed Ivan's identity and opened up the front passenger side door for Russia to get in. As the car slithered quietly into traffic Ivan leaned his head against the window and watched the lamp posts slip by, their light reflecting off the black body of the car, with the initial anger and outrage long behind him Ivan felt the fog of sleep creeping up on him once again. _I need tea...strong, black tea..._ he thought, ..._or coffee._ Though the drink was well known to Ivan because of it's popularity in the southern regions of his former empire, now the southern republics of the Soviet Union, the drink only recently began to top the popularity of tea in Moscow and other major cities of the Russian Soviet Republic. Ivan himself never much cared for coffee, it was bitter and the grains felt like dirt in his mouth, but tonight he could make an exception.

"We're really in a jam aren't we?" the driver asked, breaking the silence.

Ivan lifted his head, "What? I'm sorry, I was falling asleep."

The driver nervously licked his lips, his eyes darting to Ivan, "I was ordered to pick you up by Molotov himself. Molotov rarely goes through the trouble of asking for someone himself so you must be very important." he swallowed, as though regretting that he had spoken in the first place. "You're also not the only important figure going to central. I drove Kalinin there before I was told to get you." he added, referring to the President of the Soviet Parliament.

Ivan sighed, _So he doesn't even know_ he thought, _Wonderful_ To the driver he said, "At the time, I am not exactly sure myself. I am sure that a public announcement of events will be given when the time is right. It always is." He forced himself to smile, though it seemed to help little in calming the other man. Nodding the driver turned his attention back to the road and Ivan leaned back to the window, closing his eyes he allowed the world to go black.

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><p>"Hey. Comrade."<p>

Ivan stirred, groaning in protest.

"Comrade Braginsky, we're here, sir."

Ivan's eyes slowly opened and he yawned, he had fallen asleep. Rubbing the sleep out of his eyes he stretched the stiffness from his back and turned his attention to the driver. "Thank you." he said, "I much appreciate your quick service."

"I- of course sir." the other man smiled slightly, it was rare for him to be thanked by those he drove around, and his night was instantly brightened.

Just then the door on Ivan's side was yanked open and the round portly face of Vyachislav Molotov appeared, "Comrade Braginsky, we do not have much time to doddle." Turning to face the foreign minister Ivan was met the the steely gaze of the his eyes, eyes which had become legendary for hiding the man's true feelings at all times. Meanwhile the tight lipped confidence radiating from his mouth and jaw gave Russia a slight boost of relief. Thanking the driver once more Ivan slipped out of the car, at his full high he was easily a head and a half taller than Molotov, but the power which radiated from the man was enough to keep even the most intimidating men at bay. It was one of the main reasons Stalin installed him as Foreign Minister in the first place, as he had explained to Russia during a private moment "When I am forced to send someone to look our enemies in the eyes, I want the power of our State to be embodied by him." Ivan had to agree, it took a special type of person to talk to Nazi's and come out on top just by entering the room.

"Shall we?" Molotov asked cordially, gently steering the nation towards the entrance of the Kremlin Palace, the large building contained not only the main seat of the Soviet government but also the private office and residence of Stalin himself. "We shall." Ivan answered with a slight nod and together the two men entered the heart of the Soviet State.

Inside the building Ivan was quick to note that the usual hushed chaos, created by the sound of typewriters, telephones and the soft voices of the various secretaries, was being replaced by the sounds of a desperate military situation. Men and women in uniform rushed to and fro from office to office delivering military reports to their respective superiors while radio and Morse code operators sent and listened for news from the front lines- to Ivan the tension in the room was suffocatingly thick. _It's not going well_ he thought, _We were completely unprepared!_ The horror of this realization sent a chill colder than a Siberian wind down Ivan's back and he shivered involuntarily. Yet, some how Molotov seemed to be completely unconcerned by the fact that the nation he represented was at war, _How is he able to stay so calm?_ Ivan wondered,_ He must be positively inhuman!_ but then again Molotov was famous for his ability to hide his emotions where others would have broken down.

Weaving through the chaos to the upper levels of the green roofed building where the Soviet Leadership was meeting the Personification and citizen did not speak to each other, their minds swimming with their own thoughts until Ivan couldn't stand the silence any longer and broke it. "What do we know so far?"

Molotov didn't look back, but Ivan could see the muscles shift slightly in his thick, powerful neck, "It's hard to say." he replied, "Reports are flooding our central command, the generals are scrambling to recover from the shocking speed of the attack.". Suddenly he stopped and sighed, removing the glasses he wore Molotov began to wipe them with his handkerchief, "The truth is...our armies in the west seem to be completely dominated, our air force has been mostly destroyed on the ground, thousands have been captured or killed." he swallowed and replaced the optics onto the ridge of his nose. "Meanwhile Comrade Stalin has locked himself in his office and does not answer to anyone's calls or pleads."

"W-What!? What do you mean?" Ivan asked, his heart skipping a beat, "Has hasn't..." he trailed off too afraid to complete the sentence out loud though his brain did. _Killed himself_

Molotov shook his head, "I do not believe so. No one heard a shot or furniture being moved."

_So he hasn't hanged himself._

"This is why we need you. We hope that his Nation Personified may be able to speak to him."

As the true gravity of the situation pressed over him Ivan felt his shoulder droop slightly, his back stooping lower. If Stalin, who's name meant "From Steel", had lost it what did that mean of all the others? The commanders who were right now watching their men being slaughtered by the Germanic Beast._ Enough! I am Russia, I have dealt with worst and this is not my first war._ "Very well Comrade Molotov, take me to him."

Nodding the shorter official turned and once again the two of them were briskly making their way to the next staircase.

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><p>"Comrade Stalin! Comrade Stalin, it's me. Ivan Braginsky, Russia." No answer came from the other side of the dark red doors where Stalin spent hours working. "Iosif Vassarionovich, answer me!" Ivan suddenly shouted, pounding the doors with his first, "What are you doing! The government needs it's leader!"<p>

"Vanya, please." a soft female voice suddenly spoke up.

Ivan paused and turned his gaze to his sister, Anya Braginskaya, the female personification of Russia, standing behind him. Dressed in a light summer outfit which consisted of a white blouse, sleek burgundy jacket, and a skirt which ended mid-calf she embodied the appearance of the new Soviet woman who was beautiful while also being a productive and useful member of society. "I need to speak with him." he told her, frustration tinting his voice, "What kind of leader abandons his post during a crisis?" Anya frowned and averted her blue eyes. "Exactly." Ivan said turning back to the door.

Pounding on the wood a few more times Russia finally lost his patience and stepped back, "Alright everyone brace yourselves." he said before barreling into the door which heaved and groaned under the force of 84 kilograms slamming into it. Yet, the locks did not break and the door stayed closed, running back Ivan rammed the door two more times before it finally burst open and Ivan shot into the dark office. With the heavy woolen curtains pulled over the large window and lamps unlit, the room seemed more like a cave or dungeon cell than a high functioning office of a Soviet leader and the long shadows created by the single column of light from the open door way only added to the suppressing atmosphere Stalin had created for himself. Yet, the Georgian was nowhere to be seen, at least from the first instant, though as Russia's eyes began to adjust to the dimness he began to make out an unmoving, slightly slumped over shape sitting at the desk. Gasping in horror Ivan ran to see what had become of Stalin and found the man alive, yet seemingly catatonic. He held a bottle of vodka tightly in his right hand and his face was ashen and pale. His mouth a tight frown, and his usually cunning sly eyes which sparkled with charm were dimmed and lifeless. "Comrade Stalin?" Ivan said, taking a seat in a chair across from the man.

"Comrade Stalin!." he said again, louder and more forcefully.

When he got no reply Ivan pressing his palm against the man's prominent nose he felt the flow of air which caused a slightly wave of relief to wash over him. "Sir...Iosif..." Ivan waved his hand in front of the man's face, trying to get a response which did not come. "Stalin!" he suddenly shouted, grabbing the man's shirt and pulling him forward, "Snap out of it, damn it!" he shook the man and pushed him back into the chair.

This seemed to shock the other man out of his revelry and he blinked a few times, almost as though he was caught by surprise and didn't yet know where he was. A moment later his gaze fell onto the country. "Oh Ivan, it's you." he said , then his gaze fell onto the bottle in his hands.

"Can you believe he did it?" Stalin asked, as he took a swig from the bottle, his Georgian accent thicker on his voice, "The bastard actually did it." he shook his head as his free hand, his disabled hand, clenched into a fist causing him to wince in pain. "Out smarted by a...by a_ Corporal_." he added glaring at the hand.

Ivan swallowed, "Yes Comrade Stalin, he did attack but we can't allow it to ruin us." he licked his lips nervously "Hitler will be defeated." he finally added, "We will be victorious."

Stalin turned his gaze to Ivan and leaned forward, resting his elbow on the table, "How?" he asked, "Do you know the number of the Axis troops which have cross our border? Four million...that is what our intelligence is estimating, from the reports... before they were wiped out...and that is not even counting the tanks and planes." he nodded as though trying to assure the Russian that he was not lying before leaning back into his chair with a sigh.

Pausing to let his mind process this, Ivan blinked while the other man took a swig from the bottle. "I've fucked up Ivan." he continued, glaring at the small globe on the side of his desk. "I assumed the monster would act rationally. That was my mistake. I thought he would never risk attacking us before he crushed the Western Front. I was sure it would be in '42. He couldn't invade until 1942." He took another swig from the bottle and muttered something in his native Georgian. "I believed a monster and now...I pay the price." he scowled.

Frowning Ivan took the bottle from Stalin's hand, though the other man was reluctant to give it up,. "That may be so Comrade Stalin, but so did Alexander." he took a swig from the bottle- to fortify his nerves then cringed as the liquor burned down his throat. Frowning Russia glanced at the bottle. "Made from potato..." he muttered then sighed. First I am at war and now I can not even get decent vodka.

The Georgian man blinked and looked at the nation. "Alexander?" he asked, furrowing his brow.

"Tsar Alexander I. In 1812, he trusted Napoleon, was sure he would not attack us. If you worry about your mistake imagine how I must feel. I made this mistake twice, I trusted Francis first then I trust Ludwig. Both attacked me and invaded my land." He drank from the bottle again.

"...That's right." Stalin said , "You were out smarted by France." he turned his gaze to the Russian nation, "What did you do?" he took the bottle from Ivan and drank.

"I fought, we all fought. It was the Patriotic War. Our survival depended on it so we all fought."

"Yes...yes I remember now."

Ivan smiled and took the bottle back. "That's right. Now we will fight again." He took a swig, "We will wage another Patriotic War. A Great Patriotic War"

Hearing this Stalin's features softened until he seemed not only relaxed but filled with new confidence. "You're right!" Stalin said getting to his feet, "We will fight. We will all fight and win!"

"Yes!" Ivan agreed, happy that his leader was recovering from the shock of this morning. "Now get yourself together, the nation needs you!"

With this shot of confidence Joseph Stalin, Ivan's boss and leader of the Soviet State stood and began began to put on the military jacket which he almost always wore as best he could considering his inebriated state of mind.

For his part Ivan stood as well and slowly backed out of the room. "I will get you some coffee Comrade Stalin." Ivan said with a smile and then stepped out of the office. Closing the door behind him he turned to the small crowd of officials, "We're back into business." he proclaimed to everyone present. "Now let us figure out what the hell is going on in the west and see how badly we've been hurt."

Anya quietly approached her brother and stood before him, embracing herself tightly, "Vanya, I'm scared." she whispered softly, "I'm scared of what is going to happen. It's not going to be like the other times. I can feel it..." Ivan frowned and gently lifted her chin so she was looking into his eyes.

"Don't say that." he forced himself to smile though he too was worried of what the future had in store, "We have to be confident in our people. Together we personify Russia, the people, the spirit, we have always pulled through. Whatever the cost." Listening to him Anya's eyes brimmed with tears, "Oh Ivan-" she found herself smiling despite herself as she embraced her brother. Ivan was always full of confidence and bravado, no matter what the situation, even when all seemed lost and the world around him crumbled her brother refused to ever give up. "The last time you said that..." she said looking up into his violet eyes, her fingers running over his chiseled features, "...you almost didn't pull through." She sighed and buried her face in Ivan's chest and broke down.

"Oh Anya, please don't or- or I might break down as well and we can't have that." he said with a light laugh as tightened his arms around the woman and the two of them stood alone in front of Stalin's office while the world around them continued to spiral out of control.

Had everyone continued to ignore the two halves of Russia personified they might have stood together for hours, allowing to emotions which had collected over the decades of war and change spill through, yet it was not to be. Instead ten minutes after Anya's break down a red faced radio operated came running down the hall, a portable field radio in his hands, "Comrade Braginsky! Comrade Braginsky you have been asked for from Minsk!"Russia's eyes widened and he gently pushed Anya aside, "Who's calling for me?" he asked rushing to the other man who now stood trying to catch his breath. "I-I am not sure. Just- here." he said handing the tall blonde a pair of headphones and radio microphone. Taking them Ivan push them on and shouted loudly into the mic, "Ivan Braginsky here. Who's is this?"

The voice which through some miracle was able to push through to Moscow choked back a sob of relief, "Glory to God! Ivan it's me Nikolai" Ivan tightened his grip on the phone in his hand, as if this would keep his brother from being cut off, "Nikolai! Thank God you're alright! Is Natalia wth you?"

"N-No! No she's not." the male Personification of the Soviet Republic of Belarus said, suddenly Ivan heard what sounded like a series of explosions in the background followed by Belarus' harsh curses, "Those Fascist fucks are bombing my capital!" he shouted, "Why aren't our guys in the sky!? What's happening out there!?" Hearing the frustrated desperation in his brother's voice tightened Ivan's chest once more." Nikolai I don't think we have any guys left right now." he said, voice cracking slightly, "Ludwig and that little shit faced Corporal hit us fast and they hit us hard. Half of the pilots were in bed for heaven's sake."

Nikolai cursed as the continuous stream of explosions continued in the background, every so often static would cut the line as well but still through some miracle the line didn't die. "But look, we're getting our plan's together Kolya, Marshal Tymoshenko's here, Commander Zhukov too. Just give us a few hours and we'll get our forces into fighting order."

"You promise Ivan? You have to fucking promise!"

Ivan froze, eyes staring at the radio, cold and desperate, "Y-Yes Nikolai, I promise. I swear we'll get you out as soon as possible. Just hold on as best you can in the meantime."

Belarus sighed, then spat, "Alright Ivan, I trust you. You always pull through with an ace in the end. Some Nevsky or Kutuzov." he laughed a harsh hallow laugh.

Russia swallowed, "L-Look Nikolai, where's Natalia? Please tell me she's safe, Anya's worried sick."

Belarus spat, "Shit, Anya heard my language?" he asked, causing Ivan to smile. It was just like his little brother to turn gentleman when a woman was near.

"No Nikolai, everything's fine."

"Ah...ok, well the truth is I don't know where Natalia is. Last I heard she was going to Brest. Part of her appreciation tour for the Red Army."

Russia's heart skipped a beat, _Brest practically on the border with Poland!_ "Has there been any contact with the city?" he asked.

Nikolai laughed, "Are you kidding? I barely got through to Moscow! How the hell am I going to reach a border city when there isn't a damned border anymore!" he shouted loudly causing Ivan to cringe from the volume. "Look Ivan, I have to go. Really, I promise I'll ask for her but...please, please send help. I don't know how long we're going to fight when our supplies so low! It's rifles against tanks and machine guns damn it!" he paused breathing hard then in a much softer voice, "I love you. You're the best big brother I've got."

"I-I love you too Nikolai." Russia replied as the line went silent.

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><p>AN: Well there you go, chapter one. I hope this was interesting to read.


	2. June 22, 1941 Part 2

**A/N: **Alright! Here we go with chapter two, but first I'd like to thank those readers who have commented, you in put is very much appreciated. As a creator I love comments for my work so the more the better in my book. Anyway, here I've began to look into the rest of June 22, 1941 and the starting hours of the German invasion as well as introducing the characters we will be following throughout the story. Though because of the scope I've had to spread it out in multiple chapters, in this section we will explore the events in Belarus with Natalia and Nikolai.

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><p><strong>June 22, 1941<strong>

**Brest, Belorussian SSR, 07:23 Moscow Time**

Natalia Arlovskaya, the female personification of Belarus, flinched as another explosion rocked the hotel she was staying in. Cursing under her breath she tightened the belt around her Red Army summer uniform before grabbing her pistol and rushing out into the hall where the panic and chaos of screaming women, crying children, shouting soldiers and officers, as well as various other civilians running to and from rooms in mad dash attempt to collect their things and escape the building made the narrow passageway almost completely impassable. Realizing that it would be counterproductive for her to attempt a push through in this quagmire Belarus let out a shout of frustration and went back to her room where her only route to freedom was the window. Rushing to it Natalia grabbed the wood and tried to pull it open but it wouldn't budge. Exhaling a quick burst of air in frustration Natalia stepped back and shook her arms to loosen them before grabbing the wood to try again. Yet once more it wouldn't budge and she was left looking out through stained glass at the city which last night had been a wonderful happy place and now was a cauldron of smoke and fire. Unable to looked at the destruction of one of her cities the Belorussian woman turned away from the horrid sight and leaned against the glass, weighing the options before her. Staying here was obviously impossible yet fighting in the hall just to walk was also not smart, an area of panicking people was not safe, never would be, her only hope was to break the window. Surveying her surroundings Belarus' eyes settled on the chair in front of the writing desk and her lips tightened, _That will have to do._ Going over she took hold of the chair then holding it up with the legs pointed forward Natalia pressed herself against the wall opposite the glass, took a few quick breaths to ready herself, she charged - the glass shattered loudly and the chair sailed through the gaping hole and fell onto the street below. Smiling grimly at her small victory Natalia used her pistol to break away the left over shards before she climbed onto the window sill and looked down at the sidewalk three floors below. "Look out!" she shouted to the public running below her then with a deep calming breath she allowed herself to drop.

Striking the broken cobble stones and glass Natalia hissed in pain as her left leg buckled and she fell into a roll, "Oh damn!" she exclaimed she ended up on her back, her leg throbbing. As she lay staring up at the early morning sky the sight of row after row of planes, black like vultures, all flying from the west filled her with dread and anger. _How dare they do this to my land!_ she thought. With the anger flaring within her Natalia moved the painful leg and winced but the pain was less than she expected. Standing up she took a few wobbly steps, noting that she now had a prominent limp, Natalia moved through the forward, hatred boiling inside of her. Doing her very best not to panic and keep her wits Belarus decided that her only choice was to go to the Brest Fortress in the south western end of the city.

Built in the 19th century on the Bug River back when Belarus had been a part of the Russian Empire, the fortress had swapped hands between governments and nations multiple times, each time it was used to house troops. (Though for a while the Polish Sanitation government had used it to hold their political rivals when the Pilsudski dictatorship held power) When the territory had once again fallen under the control of the Soviet Union the fortress was again used to hold troops from the Red Army and it was there Natalia felt she would find herself most useful. Suddenly the building next to Natalia exploded sending fire, wind, glass, and stone out into the street, while the shock wave it released blasted her off of her feet sending her sprawling in the middle of the road way. Screaming with shock and pain Natalia struck the hard surface of the road, blood poured from cuts on her forehead and neck while burn marks on her uniform smouldered. Though the worst of it was the vertigo and shell shock which sent the world spinning and muffled every sound through the ringing in her ears.

As blood streaked her face Natalia slowly rolled over and despite the pain she stood, refusing to give up. Wiping the blood away from her eyes she gingerly took a step forward, looking like a drunk as she attempted to walk on legs which felt like jelly. As she stumbled along her hearing began to return and her world settled, though she still stumbled here and there. Just then an armored truck rolled out of the blinding smoke which stung Belarus' eyes and tore down visibility, stopping only centimeters in front of her. As she leaned against the vehicle, thankful for the moment of rest, a young soldier with black hair and ears which stuck out rather comically climbed out of the car. Shouting angrily at her in Armenian the soldier went around to the front of the car, intent on helping Natalia out of the road, yet when he saw her injuries his eyes widened and he began to yell at her in accented Russian, "Are you crazy walking like this! You're going to die if you stay out here!"

Snapping out of her daze Natalia turned her gaze to the Armenian, "What?" she asked.

"You need to get out of the road and go find somewhere safe!" the soldier said again, pointing to where she had come. "The Germans have surrounded the city! They've surged through the countryside! Our armies have collapsed everywhere!" Hearing these words Natalia frowned and closed her eyes, _Impossible! _she thought, _That's impossible!_ A sudden surge of anger filled the nation as her eyes snapped open, grabbing the soldier by his uniform she pulled him to her, "Watch your mouth you little shit!" she snarled.

She refused to believe that the Red Army, the army of her brother and herself, would just collapse and fall apart because it had been attacked. After all, what good was an army that wouldn't fight an invading force? Staring at the woman's enraged eyes the Armenian gaped and attempted to pull his shirt away from her vice like grip, much stronger than he'd ever expected, "I-It's true." he stammered, "The Germans over took us, they attacked when it was still dark. Many were asleep-"

Natalia clenched her teeth infuriated, "Alright, if you don't want me to execute you for panic-mongering you'd better get me to the Fortress. On the double!" With that she pushed the young man back and let him go at the same time, causing him to fall over on his bum, "I-I'll try-" he stammered getting to his feet.

Slipping into the comfortable passenger seat of the truck Natalia crossed her arms and simmered, as the car came to life and started to move across the rubble of the street. If what the soldier had told her was true Natalia reasoned, that would mean that her situation was more dire than she had first expected. _Of course this man is obviously a cowardly panic-monger, therefore his words should be taken with a grain of salt. But if he is telling the truth, then I'm cut off from the rest of my country...and Nikolai. _As the car moved carefully through the streets of the bombed out, burning city Natalia stared at the destruction around her with little emotion other than anger and sorrow. Who could have imagined that she could go to sleep happy and content with life and wake up to an inferno of death and destruction, as if to extend her point a fire truck swerved past them with it's bell ringing. A few moments later the two of them drove past the sight of their mission- a burning library, and to Natalia's great amazement she could even see librarians running into the fire to save more books.

"They must be crazy." the soldier said, watching that chaos of the event, "Saving books while the city burns." he shook his head and pressed on. Giving him a side glance Natalia found herself forced to agree, it was insane, though at the same time she could understand why someone could do such a thing. "For some books are what they live for." she said with a sigh, "The knowledge and culture they contain is priceless to many."

"What's the point? It is not like anyone is going to read them now."

Belarus sighed, if nothing was done soon, he would be right. Suddenly Natalia felt as though she was being drowned as the sudden horrible realization that she had ended up cut off, helpless to help her people and her brothers, made her sick to her stomach. A moment later she felt the bile coming up her throat so she opened the door and vomited hard, over and over, until there was nothing left inside.

"You need to go to the medics, I think you've been contused."

"I'm fine." Natalia replied wiping her mouth with her sleeve, the sour acid tasted bitter in her mouth and burned her throat, "Do you have water?" she asked.

"There might be something in the back."

Nodding Natalia turned and leaned over the back of her seat to check the storage space behind her, as she searched Belarus suddenly came to an object which filled her with more joy than an ocean of fresh water. "A radio!" she exclaimed, pulling it to of the space and into her lap, "Why didn't you tell me you had one?"

The Armenian shrugged, "I honestly didn't know." he said. "I just deliver supplies and don't ask questions."

Too happy to worry about the other man Natalia set the compact device on her lap and began to fiddle with the buttons, a moment later the small orange screen showing lit bright, "It works!" she exclaimed, her smile widening, "Now we can talk to others." Unfortunately, as she turned from one feed to the next it soon became clear that that air waves were also no longer in Soviet control as every single one so far was screaming out the German language.

"Fucking dogs." Natalia muttered, frustrated.

Then suddenly she heard a language she could understand, loud and clear, "This is Brest Fortress! This is Brest Fortress!" though her excitement was short lived, "We have been surrounded and need reinforcements. Come in please. This is Brest For-"

"Son of a bitch!" Natalia screamed in pure white anger as she tossed the radio into the back.

"Mother fu- are you crazy!?" the Armenian exclaimed, covering his face with the crook of his arm to protect himself, "What do you think you're doing?" He stared at her, confused, angry, and regretting that he'd ever stopped to help this woman who had obviously gone insane.

"Shut up and drive." Belarus snapped, "We're alone now. Me and you, no one is going to help us and we're out of a plan."

The Armenian laughed bitterly, "I personally had a plan. To get the hell out and find a safer place to be. Now I'm stuck with you."

Scowling Natalia looked away, trying to come up with a plan of her own, at the moment she knew that there was no way she's be able to get to the Fortress without getting herself captured or someone killed. Plus, with the Red Army no longer in control of the city and the surrounding area Natalia knew that staying here would help little in the long run. Glanced at the young man next to her, probably a recruit who had been called in for the regular two years of service and never imagining that he'd be in such a situation, Natalia quickly deciding that it would be at least more comfortable to travel with someone else. "I think we should stick together, working together we will probably be better off than if we went out on our own." she said.

The soldier scoffed, "Oh yeah, I'm supposed to stick with a woman I don't even know the identity of. You might be a German infiltrator for all I know."

Offended by his words Belarus sniffed in indignation, "I am Natalia Arlovskaya, Patriot of Belarus and the USSR." she snapped. "Look comrade, our nation needs us, we need to work together not only to survive but to protect it." she added

The Armenian said nothing for some time, as if weighing his own options in his head, then nodded, "I can't disagree...obviously" He gestured at the destruction around them with a scowl.

Natalia relaxed, "But I think we would be more effective if I knew your name as well."

Glancing at her the soldier fished out his identification card, "Arsen Hakobyan" he said handing it to her. Taking it Belarus gave it a quick look, confirmed his identity, then gave it back. "Wonderful to meet you Arsen." She smiled, "I think we-"

Natalia was cut off by the sound of rapid gunfire and screams, turning her gaze away from her new comrade to the road, the Belorussian saw a swarm of German infantrymen flooding a square up ahead, firing their weapons at everything that moved. In response whatever Soviet soldiers were in the area returned fire though they carried rifles and only a select few had an automatic machine gun in their hands. Jolting the car to a stop Arsen shifted the gear and began to back away from the fire fight, shouting and cursing in his native tongue, suddenly a loud _**whomp**_ sounded behind them which was quickly followed by a gaping hole exploding in a building to the left of them. "Tank! It's a tank!" Natalia shouted, "Bail out!" she opened the door and quickly jumped from the truck. Then ran for cover behind a pile of rubble from a collapsed building. As she hit the dirt the truck she'd been in moments ago lifted from the ground as a fireball engulfed it- a direct hit. _God damn!_ Natalia thought, pulling out her pistol from her belt she peeked over the top of the bricks and watched as the tank began to move forward down the street, the black crosses of the _Deutsches Heer_ clear on it's grey body. Suddenly Natalia saw movement from behind the veil of smoke billowing from the truck and her spirits instantly lifted, "Arsen! Arsen over here!" she shouted, waving her arm. The Armenian, when seeing her, smiled and dashed across the street in front of the tank. Almost instantly the machine gun turret lit up, spitting bullets at the poor soldier, yet through some amazing feat of luck Arsen dived behind the rubble and together the two of them curled up as bullets riddled the wall behind them. "We have to get out of here!" Natalia shouted before lowering herself on her stomach, "Come on!" she ordered and began sliding her way through the hole in the wall, Artsen was quick to follow.

Once the two of them were out of intimate danger and instant death the two survivors found themselves in a fit of hysterical laughter, followed by tears, and laughter again. It was one of those moments when all logic is lost, and pure unfiltered emotion takes over, emotions of joy for being alive and sorrow for how close they had come to being the opposite. Eventually though reality forced it's ugly head back into the forefront of their minds and emotion took a back seat once more. "Alright, so what's the plan?" Arsen asked, trying to catch his breath.

Listening to the sound of raging gun battles spreading through the city Natalia sighed, "It's obvious the Germans have entered the city now. So, we need to find any Soviet foothold and fight on as much as possible. Though our main objective should be to get out of Brest and into the wilderness. I'm sure there we will find ourselves more useful."

"If you say so Comrade Arlovskaya." Arsen said with a light salute.

Nodding Natalia stood and carefully made her way back to the hole the two of them had used to enter the building in the first place, peeking out she saw that the area was now clear of any fighters. "Alright, lets go." she whispered then using a crouching run she's learned during her Red Army training, something she insisted on trying to better understand what the troops went through, she ran from the rubble to the buildings across the street. Pressing herself against the wall she quickly checked the area then waved Arsen over, when the young man was near her she pointed to the square which was now littered with bodies of German and Soviet soldiers. "That would be the hardest and...most dangerous route for us." she whispered. Chewing on her lip she looked over at the street they had been driving down before the tank came through, "Going back takes us back to where I am pretty sure the Germans are..." she muttered to herself.

"I think, though I am simply a transporter, if someone were to get to the fountain they'd be in a good place to cover for their comrade and so on."

_He has a point there_ Natalia thought to herself as she weight her options, "Alright," she finally decided, "I'm going first, you follow." It seemed fair that way, after all as a national personification she was immortal while her nation and people existed, Arsen was just another mortal among many. "Now wait a second." the Armenian whispered harshly, "As a man I should go first." He raised his pistol, "I'm sure I'll be fine. We Armenians are traditionally good fighters."

"No." Natalia snapped, "I said I'm going first and so I shall. I outrank you plus I'm the one with a plan. You do as I say and we have no problems. Understood."

Though he wanted to disagree, his honor insisted upon it, Arsen decided that it would probably be a better idea to keep silent and let the woman do what she wanted.

"Yes Comrade. I understand."

"Good." Natalia said, then cocking her pistol she took a few short breaths before running out into the open air of the Square.

* * *

><p><strong>Belarussian SSR, Three kilometers outside of Minsk - 08:00 Moscow Time<strong>

"Move aside! Open up the armory by order of General Pavlov!" Nikolai shouted, leaping out of the black government car. When the guards at the armory gates didn't move Nikolai shouted again and waved his arm as he ran down the dirt road to them. "What is the meaning of this? I ordered you to move!"

The guards swallowed and tightened their grip on the rifles they held, "I-I'm sorry sir but our orders are to get permission from Moscow."

Nikolai gritted his teeth and cursed the inflexibility of the Soviet System when it came to the armed forces, Central Command was so worried about provocations and saboteurs that they wanted to know of every little thing, now when communications were down this fear had calcified the Red Army's ability to move fast. Turning to the men he'd brought to him he quickly ordered the guards arrested for inhibiting the war effort.

"Y-You can't do this! I'll report you to Central Command!" the voice which had suddenly broke the morning silence belong to the head of the armory, who came running out of the hut where his office was found. Losing his patience with the idiotic red tape around him Belarus pulled his pistol from his belt and pointed it at the portly official, "I'm Second Lieutenant Nikolai Nikolaevich Arlovsky and I order you to stand down and let my men through or I'll have you executed as a German agent!" he snapped. "If you all haven't noticed there a _war_ on! If these weapons are not moved they will be clear and easy targets for the Fascist bombers!"

The official stared at Nikolai, his hands raised over his head, "I-I-I-" he tried to swallow and his eyes flicked to the gun in Nikolai's hand, "F-Fine but it's your neck. If anyone comes to question me I'll say you knocked me out."

"Fine." Nikolai agreed then gestured towards the gate. "Open it!" Rushing the official the soldiers quickly took the keys from the overweight man's belt and used them to open the gate. "Collect all the crates and fill the trucks, then back to the front!" Nikolai ordered before turning to the fat official. "Do you have anti-aircraft guns around here?" he asked.

The official nodded, "Y-Yes Of course-"

"Good, get a man on them all, shoot anything flying here from the west."

The official nodded then saluted and ran off to complete the new orders he had been given, Nikolai meanwhile supervised the removal of weapons the Red Army desperately needed. As the line of trucks moved into the large complex Nikolai waved them through then glanced at his watch, it had been three hours since he'd been able to get through to his brother Ivan and not a word had returned. Instead once he'd crawled out of the bomb shelter where he'd been forced to go into Nikolai found that much of central Minsk had been reduced to rubble, as it seemed to have been hit the hardest than the rest of the city. All over civilians were evacuating the city, doing their best to carry away their most precious possessions to safety. Angry beyond words and shocked by the absolute domination of the German air force Nikolai walked through the city in a daze, surveying the damage until the Commander of the Soviet Western Front, General of the Army Dimitri Pavlov, arrived and took over the situation. When Nikolai introduced himself to the Commander the other was quick to take him in, and even gave him a rank, before sending him off to collect supplies for the defense of the Homeland. It was the reason he was here now, watching as his little army stripped the vast complex before the second wave of German plans would arrive.

Just then the sound of the anti-aircraft guns coming to life snapped Belarus out of his thoughts. Turning, wide eyed he watched as German planes flew in over the horizon, low and ready to bomb the complex to the four corners of the world. "Planes! Planes! Get these weapons out of here!" Nikolai shouted just as the Stuka dive bombers opened fire and pelted the complex. Hitting the dirt Nikolai rolled under the car he'd come in and curled up as tightly as he could, flinching as the 8mm bullets struck the car and dirt around it. Very quickly after, he heard the explosions and felt the heat from the fireballs which rose into the sky.

Praying until the first wave was through Nikolai slowly crawled out and surveyed the damage, most of the trucks he had brought were in flames, their cargo lost and damaged. The complex too had turned into a flaming inferno thought soldiers which had survived were still trying to save as many crates as possible. On one end of the complex two planes lay burning. The human cost of the attack was also substantial, as he could see many bodies, including that of the fat official who had tried to stop him, on the ground either shot or burnt to death. Breathing hard and surveying _this_ destruction with wild panic filled eyes Nikolai turned slowly trying to think of what to do, yet he couldn't. _It's lost. We're lost. It's all lost. My God it's lost._ the thought over and over, as though on a loop.

Then he heard the second wave of attack and the color drained completely from his face as he felt his back go stiff, "Here they come again. Oh shit here they come again." he whispered, yet when he didn't hear as many of the anti-air guns go off this time he turned his gaze and saw that a soldier which had been sitting in one was dead. Instantly Belarus knew what to do, running to the large gun he pushed the corpse aside and took the controls. "OK, I'm ready you for bastards this time." he muttered and took aim for one of the planes which was starting it's dive. "Fuck you! Fuck all of you!" Nikolai shouted from the top of his lungs as he pulled the trigger hard and send the deadly stings into the air. Watching as they riddled the front of the plane he cheered then moved to another until the gun overheated and jammed. "Oh no-" his breath caught in his throat when he saw one of the Stukas open up it's bomb bay doors and release it's cargo towards his position. Gasping Nikolai jumped out of the seat as the world around him exploded and went black.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Well there you have it. I hope it was an interesting read. As always comments are welcome. Thank you for reading.


	3. June 22, 1941 Part 3

**A/N: **Hello and welcome to chapter tree of my story. We are still dealing with June 22, 1941, a day which was really the longest day for all those involved and for me as a writer as well. Yet, I hope that once I get through everything which needs to be shown things will move rather quickly. Anyway, in this chapter there is a look into the Ukrainian Personifications of Yekaterina and Konstantin (Who is the male personification of the country) and how they cope with the reality of war. Hopefully this chapter end up being interesting for everyone.

* * *

><p><strong>Kiev, Ukrainian SSR June 22, 1941 - 10:00 Moscow Time<strong>

"Water! Where the hell is the water?" shouted a firefighter at the head of the fire squad which was trying to save the building. Standing at a safe distance, Yekaterina Braginskaya, the female personification of Ukraine, stared as a group of firemen ran the underground pipe which supplied water to their hose. "We've lost pressure!" they shouted to their superior after checking the gauge. Cursing the Fire Marshal removed his helmet, which looked like a cross between a Prussian_ Pickelhaube_ helmet and that of an English bobby, and wiped the sweat from his brow just as an explosion from another gas line rupturing sent a jet of flames into the street. As the firefighters quickly moved their equipment from the danger of the flames, the Fire Marshal replaced his helmet and ran to the truck to find his bullhorn."That's it!" he shouted to his team when he found it, "We've lost her, pull back!"

These words sent a jolt of panic through Ukraine, "Wait- No No no don't leave it-" she shouted, desperate to save _something_ from this horrible situation. "Comrade Fire Marshal! Please don't leave!" she said rushing to the taller man who was covered in black streaks of ash and grime.

Shaking his head the man continued to pull his men back, "It's a lost cause! We need to save our energy and water for fires which we can fight. As a public safety worker I highly suggest you get out of here now!"

Dazed and lost Yekaterina watched helplessly as the men she had hoped would save her state's parliament piled into their truck and race away to another call, their bell ringing loudly. Lost and out of ideas Yekaterina watched the Supreme Soviet of the Ukrainian SSR, her republic's parliament building, burn with a shocked fascination before falling to her knees defeated. _W-What am I going to do now?_ she thought. With tears brimming her eyes Yekaterina forced herself to look up at the sight, she couldn't allow defeatism to infect her thinking or else the war would be good as lost. Yet it was difficult for her to believe that things would work out. It had been six and a half hours since the horror had started and two since the last wave of planes had passed but the destruction was far from over and reports that tanks and infantry were crossing her western border in mass, thrusting deep into her heartland, as evidence of the total collapse of defense. At the same time, no word had come from Moscow since the start of the attack, though her officials were doing all they could to inform the leadership of the dire situation. Now as Yekaterina watched the flames from the fire lick the flag of her republic, which was posted on the top of the Parliament, it was perfectly clear that she was on her own and couldn't expect her brother Ivan to come help her; a moment later the cloth burst into flames.

With the burning heat singeing her skin Ukraine stood and backed away. With the fire spreading from one building to the next Yekaterina feared that she would become encircled by the flames, then roasted until they died out. Shuddering at the thought Yekaterina started to make her way out of the destroyed center and as she ran through one fire engulfed street to the next Yekaterina felt the suppressing haze of smoke sting her eyes and burn her lungs. At the same time the wall of fire on either side of her caused Ukraine to feel as though she was wandering through the pages of Dante's _Inferno_ instead of her favorite city. Yet, the harsh, horrible truth was that it was her capital burning and she was completely helpless in stopping it.

_My heart is burning, my people are dying, and there is no end in sight_ she thought as she fished out her handkerchief and covered the lower half of her face, though it did little to protect her from the choking blackness. Ignoring the burning heat from the inferno upon her skin and the pain her her eyes Ukraine pushed through while tears flowed freely down her cheeks, evaporating before they could even reach her chin. Just then she heard the sound of voices up ahead, lifting her gaze she smiled when she saw that she was finally reaching the edge of the inferno where firefighters were battling the blaze. When they noticed her the men began to point and shout to one another, horrified and shocked to actually see another survivor trying to escape. As the men ran towards her, Yekaterina forcing her way through the fire and smoke but before they had a chance to reach her yet another gas line ruptured and spat a column of fire into the street. Screaming with surprise as the flames singeing her clothes and hair Ukraine began to wildly pat at the flames consuming her outfit as the men quickly took hold of her and carried her to safety.

**-xxxx-**

"Comrade Braginskaya, it was extremely foolish of you to venture so deep into the bombed zone." The annoyed, though relieved, voice belonged to the Chairmen of the Supreme Soviet of Ukraine, Mykhailo Hrechukha, her boss.

Coughing Yekaterina slowly sat up once the doctors had back away from her cot, she was in a military command center of the Soviet Ukrainian Front, "I apologize Comrade Chairman." she said softly before she reached up to run a hand through her bandaged head. Though she insisted that she was hardly harmed and the rapid healing nature of her Personification status would keep her from suffering permanent damage her boss, worried that he had failed his mission to keep her safe, insisted she get a full medical examination at one of the medical stations set up around Kiev.

Still looking troubled Hrechukha began to pace in front of the small military cot where Ukraine sat, "I shouldn't have let you out of my sight." he complained, "If your brother had known what a foolish risk you would take he would be most upset with me...why didn't you leave with the firefighters?"

Yekaterina sighed, from both the mentioning of her brother Ivan and the scolding she was receiving.

"First of all," she said, getting out of the cot, "Ivan is my _younger_ brother, therefore he is not entitled to watch over me. Second, even if he is upset, you're my leader and I will protect you."

Hrechukha sighed and ran his hand through his hair, "That may be so but he still holds much influence..." he shook his head, "No matter, the event has past and there is no need to speak of it again." he said with a nod. Frowning at her boss's eagerness to sweep her near death (though she technically wouldn't have died) experience under the carpet Yekaterina exhaled with exasperation and crossed her arms. It bothered her that everyone, including other Personifications treated Ivan as if he was her older brother, someone who was able to punish her or those who harmed her; though in truth she knew that Ivan had had, through the strange twist of historic fate, grown to become the most powerful and influential nation of Eastern Europe. She on the other hand had fallen to the wayside as a territory fought over by the nations around her. _At least_. she thought, _I can trust Ivan more than others._

Just then her boss's frustrated voice broke into her thoughts, though she didn't hear them clearly, "What was that?" she asked, turning her attention to the portly man.

"I said, your brush with disfigurement only adds to my problems."

"Well, I'm sorry I'm so troublesome for you." Yekaterina snapped, getting up from the bed, "Honestly, if I'm such a bother why don't you go to Konstantin, I'm sure he'll be _/much_/ more careful." When she mentioned her brother Konstantin, the male Personification of Ukraine, Hrechukha's features darkened, "I unfortunately can not turn to him at this time." he muttered, trying to calm himself.

"Oh really? Why is that?"

"He has been arrested."

"Arrested? Now?" Yekaterina asked, surprised that even during an invasion the authorities would go through the trouble, "What has be done?"

"He was spreading defeatist propaganda, among other things." This time the speaker was a man Yekaterina was unfamiliar with but she could see from his uniform that the he was a political officer, one of many which made sure the armed forces and in lesser sense the public didn't commit political crimes. The fact that it was he who was telling her why her brother was arrested made it obvious that it was for his continual resistance of the Soviet government which had been established in their nation. Sighing Yekaterina removed the bandaged from her head, "Alright...where is he being held?"

The officer blinked then glanced at the Chairman, "I don't think that seeing him is safe Comrade Braginskaya." he said.

"Yes," agreed Chairman Hrechukha, "Konstantin is no concern of yours really. At this time we should concern-"

"I didn't ask you if my brother is my concern." snapped Ukraine, interrupting the her boss, "I asked you where is my brother being held." She glared at the two men, making it perfectly clear that there was no way she was going to allow a bunch of officials to decide how she was going to treat her brother or his outbursts. Setting her boss with a hard look she waited for him to speak, "Well?" she asked.

Wetting his lips Hrechukha nodded, "Very well..."

**-xxxx-**

"So...what have you done now?" Yekaterina asked when she came to her brother's cell door. The other Personification sat on the cot with his legs criss-crossed and his hands on his knees, he didn't look at all worried by the fact that he had been placed under arrest in the least. Without opening his eyes Konstantin tilted his head slightly then smiled, "Katya...I was wondering when you would arrive." he said in a calm and even voice, to Yekaterina it even sounded like he was amused. "Yes well, how can I not at a time like this, what were you doing?" Continuing to keep his eyes closed Konstantin shrugged, "What I have always done. Resisted. In return I fall here."

Yekaterina sighed and gripped the bars as she leaned closer, "Kostya, I don't really think now is a good time to resist, really. Surely you have noticed that there is a war on."

Konstantin chuckled, "There you are mistaken dear sister, now is a perfect time to resist," he paused and opened his eyes, "After all, our liberators have just crossed the border."

His words caused Yekaterina to tilt her head in confusion, if he was speaking of reinforcements for the Red Army then there was no true border to cross, after all the Soviet Union was in practice a single State, even if it was made up of many republics. At the same time, how could one liberated land that wasn't yet occupied as it was clear the Germans were no where near Kiev at the moment, "Liberators?" she asked, "Who do you mean?"

Konstantin chuckled and shook his head, "Oh dear sister, still clinging to your belief in Ivan and his scum filled government. I mean the Germans of course. As they1 spill over the border of this rotten state they cleanse the land and prepare it for our freedom."

These words hit Yekaterina's ears like a clap of horrific thunder, as her eyes widened she instinctively backed away, "The Germans?" she whispered, her mind reeling from his words. Then as a flash of anger flared within her she lashed out harshly. "You name the invaders of our land liberators!?" she shouted, "Have you finally gone completely mad!?"

Konstantin's smile vanished as he quickly stood and charged the bars, a horrible scowl twisting his lips, "No!" he fired back, "It is you who's gone mad! You support our oppressors from Moscow without even blinking! You've always done so! You've always supported Ivan and his vile barbaric race! He's done nothing but suppress you, his people use your land as if you were a common whore, and instead of resisting your spread your legs in invitation! "

Yekaterina listened and watched her brother's outrage spill forth in a shocked silence, to think that Konstantin could hold such anger and hatred for their younger brother and even her broke her heart and tears began to well up in her eyes, "How can you say all these things? Ivan is your little brother and he's always been there for us. Always took care of us, he's suffered through the same suffering that we have!"

"NO! No no no! Ivan is a criminal! He's stolen everything from me! If it wasn't for him Ukraine would be the center of Europe I would be the richest and best nation! Instead those drunken Russian barbarians steal everything we have then pretend to be brothers." he gripped the bars, breathing hard, his body slumped over, "Don't you see Katya? Don't you see what he's done to us? Hitler is right when he calls Russia vile, a seat of the Jewish power. You have to see it Katya, you have to." As Yekaterina stared at him she slowly felt a pang of sympathy for Konstantin, not because of his "suffering" but because of the wild jealousy she saw in him. "All I understand is that greed has poisoned your soul and warped you mind. I find that to be tragic."

Hearing these words Konstantin's eyes flashed with anger and his nostrils flared, "Brainwashed bitch." he growled, "You've swallowed that Communist propaganda and now you turn against me too." he gripped the bars tighter and spat in her face, hoping to do something, anything to hurt her.

Flinching when the thick saliva hit her face Yekaterina quickly wiped the offensive bodily fluid from her face after which she set her brother with a harsh glare. "If you have forgotten Kostya," she spoke, her voice cold and harsh, while her eyes narrowed. "I joined that Ukrainian SSR when it was nothing more than a single nucleus in Kharkiv while Ivan's world was in shambles and the Empire fell apart. And if I remember correctly, while I was trying to build a country, you were running with your warlords in Kiev and Lviv trying desperately to take control through terror and violence."

"HA!" Konstantin suddenly erupted, his eyes wide and flaming with a wild intensity, "More Russian propaganda! "You're a pathetic excuse for a sister. Instead of joining those Moscovite animals you should have been with me building a free and beautiful Ukraine."

"We are free and beautiful Konstantin. Those "Moscovite animals" are actually Ukrainians like you and me. They just decided on a different path, a better path, and were more successful. Even some of your founding fathers joined us in the end."

Shaking his head Konstantin began to laugh, "Alright go on, continue to lick Ivan's boots but mark my words you and Ivan shall not win this time. My people, the _true _Ukrainians will stand with the Germans and when they destroy Russia's rotted state I will not protect you. You've ceased to be my sister and those loyal to you are as good as dead." with that he turned his back and went slowly to the bed. Yekaterina meanwhile quickly turned and walked away, doing her best to keep the tears spilling from her eyes as she went back to the upper levels of the building where her people needed her but this final unforgivable strike against her was beyond anything she had expected. Her brother had not only disowned her, but declared open warfare against her people, fellow Ukrainians who he now viewed as an enemy. _My God, My God can this day get any worse? _she asked herself through the tears.

* * *

><p><strong>Western Territories of the Ukrainian SSR, June 22, 1941 12:56 Local Time<strong>

Julchen Beilschmidt watched the rows of Panzer III tanks of the First Panzer Group, a part of Army Group South, rolled across the fields of the Ukraine through her binoculars and smirked; things were going much better than she had expected them to go. In the past six months of planning and preparation she'd been worried that invading Russia would be a mistake, after all unlike the French and the Polish, the Russians were known for their tenacity and brutal resistance. In the past, back when she and her brother Gilbert had Personified the Kingdom of Prussia, she would have been very uneasy about attacking her largest neighbor and often times ally to the east, even during the Great War, when the Prussians had become states of the Kaiserreich, the Russian Empire was not an easy opponent to fight. Yet ever since the October Revolution Ivan's power seemed to have dwindled terribly, the ease in which German troops were over taking the Soviets was proof of that.

Lowering the field glasses Julchen settled back into the comfortable leather seat of the armored car she and _Generalfeldmarschall_ Paul Ludwig Ewald von Kleist were using to follow their troops from a safe distance. "If things are going as well for Ludwig as they are here, Russia will fall as fast as the others." she said with a satisfied little smirk. Though she wasn't a supporter of Hitler and his Nazi party, Julchen was a loyal patriot of the Germanic state, regardless of what form it took. Her old Prussian pride and sense of duty, though slightly dated for the modern world, had been ingrained in her psyche since the time of Frederick the Great.

"Hm yes." von Kleist responded with a slight frown, "Though I would have enjoyed a bit of a challenge."

Julchen chuckled, "You were never satisfied with a simple victory were you?" though she teased

him the white haired Prussian had to admit that she too would have preferred more resistance

from the "Glorious Red Army".

_What a joke_. she thought.

"I guess I would feel better if we had been attached to Army Group Center." Commander von Kleist said with a sigh, that Army was fighting in Belarus with their end objective being Moscow, capital of the rotted USSR, "But of course Guderian would never allow it. Always needing to the most glorious objectives to himself. anyone else to take Moscow." Julchen laughed, "Oh of course. Same with my brother, he couldn't shut up about how glorious it would feel to ride his tanks all the way to Stalin's front door." Therefore Ludwig was up north, tearing through Belarus on his way to Moscow with his favorite tank commander while she would go towards Kiev. "At least we can contend ourselves with the fact that Kiev is an important industrial center for the Soviet state and was historic capital of Russia, we are thus like Napoleon on his way to Moscow when the Tsar sat in Petersburg."

"I would rather go to Petersburg than Kiev, anything would be more glorious than Kiev."

von Kleist sighed, "But alas we have our orders and we need to complete them as loyal servants to our new Reich." Julchen grunted and said no more. In truth, ever since Hitler had risen to power, she'd begun to worry about her younger brother. The once calm and well mannered nation had started to turn his back to everything Gilbert and she had taught him. Instead he allowed his anger and frustration to lead him through events and decisions. How else could she explain his fervor in the Master race myth or his need to subjugate the world under his boot? _Bismarck would have never allowed us to waste our time like this._ Julchen thought grimly as the car lurched forward, bumping over the dirt road.

As the image of her most recent great leader came to mind Julchen couldn't help by smile; the man, a genius of politics both domestic and foreign, had risen Gilbert and herself to a status of power not seen since Frederick I. Though Bismarck wasn't against war, he had after all waged numerous to unite the Germanic states and duchies, the Iron Chancellor would never have invaded Russia until the threat to the west had been completely removed; and even then he'd make sure that Russia was the aggressor. _After all, breaking the truce was dishonorable, cowardly, and underhanded _she thought. Alas such men and ideas no longer existed in the new Nazi leadership. Yet, Julchen didn't argue and did her best to help her little brother achieve his goals, hoping that maybe after this latest conquest he would calm down and return to bringing peace to Germany. _We need peace, _she thought,_ or else the people might take matters into their own hands._

Though Ludwig and Hitler refused to believe or listen to her Julchen had felt the wave of discontent which had washed over the German public in her bones and she knew that Gilbert had felt it too. It was an unpleasant unesey feeling of a nation's people tired of war and doubting their leader for the first time in years. _But that's fine._ Julchen smiled, _Our victory here, one more quick kick, will calm the situation for good._

As Army Group South continued its pushed through the heartland of the USSR, Julchen and Field-Marshal von Kleist watched as German and Soviet tank divisions met and battled. Though soon the smoke from the burning shells of Soviet BT-5s and BT-7 tanks, which stood very little chance against the German Panzer III models because of their lighter armor, choked the air around them. "This is wonderful _Herr Generalfeldmarschall_!" Julchen exclaimed with a clap of her hands, she didn't even care that her eyes were stinging horribly from the thick, black oil fires. "God I haven't felt this invigorated since we destroyed the French back in 1870."

Then, as the hours and kilometers went by and Army Group South continued deeper and deeper into the Ukrainian territories, Julchen began to witnessed a strange sight which shocked and delighted her. As her armies passed through and near villages of Western Ukraine, they were met by locals of every type. Men, women, children, and the elderly came to greet them with flowers, bread, and drink. "Goodness..." Julchen said as she and von Kleist were mobbed by the public, "It's as though we're liberators." The Field-Marshal smiled as he took a bottle from a young farmer, "Don't you know we are?" he asked before taking a sip, "As our dear Fuhrer has said, the Judeo-Bolshevik regime is universally hated in Russia." He passed the bottle to the white haired Prussian, "These poor saps are so desperate to throw off the chains they will greet anyone who promises to destroy it." Listening to the Field Marshal Julchen sniffed it before drinking. "If that is the case, our occupation of Russia will be the easiest in this war." she said, then laughed and took another swig.

* * *

><p><strong>AN:** Well that's all for now., I do hope the story was/is interesting for all readers. As always, reviews are welcome. Thank you.

**Historical Note:** After the outbreak of the Russian Revolution and the collapse of the Russian Empire, Ukraine's territories began to carve out independence from Russia. Throughout this time many small governments and factions, (Such as the Western Ukrainian People's Republic, The Ukrainian Hetmanate, and so forth) fought for power, often relying on warlords to help them gain control. Yet, in the end the two most powerful governments which came about were the Ukrainian People's Republic (UPR) government in Kiev and the Ukrainian Soviet Republic (USR) in Kharkiv. The UPR was a mostly nationalistic government which insisted on creating a state made up of majority ethnic Ukrainians without a major role for Jews, Poles, or ethnic Russians therefore there were many armed groups which would go about on Pogroms to hackle together power. The USR gave it's loyalty to the Bolshevik government which was fighting it's own civil war in Russia at the time and thus made the UPR and the USR bitter enemies on the opposite sides of the political, societal, and economic circles. In the end though the USR won out with despite the support given to the UPR from Germany and Austria, and the leadership of the URP government either fled or joined the side of the Soviet republic, but that still did not bring peace to Ukrainian where Soviet control was violently resisted in the Western half of the country and it was there that the Germans were met as liberators.


	4. June 22, 1941 Part 4

****London, England. June 22, 1941 – 20:30 London Time.****

**_**At 4 o'clock this morning Hitler attacked and invaded Russia. All his usual formalities of perfidy were observed with scrupulous technique. A non-aggression treaty had been solemnly signed and was in force between the two countries. No complaint had been made by Germany of its non-fulfillment. Under its cloak of false confidence the German armies drew up in immense strength along a line which stretched from the White Sea to the Black Sea and their air fleets and armoured divisions slowly and methodically took up their stations...**_**

Alice Kirkland sat near her radio, tea cup in hand as she listened to the the sound of her Prime Minister giving one of his many speeches. Like many citizens of England and the other nations of the Commonwealth Alice just as surprised and in many ways relieved to hear about Hitler's turn against Soviet Russia. It meant then, that the planned invasion of the British Isles had been postponed, as well as the simple fact that she and her brother were no longer fighting alone. As Churchill continued to speak Arthur, who had arrived to her flat an hour ago and now sat in the chair next to her own, took a drag from his cigarette and slowly exhaled the smoke, sending Alice into a coughing fit. "Must you smoke that infernal thing in my flat?" she asked as she furiously waved a hand in front of her face. "I've smoked indoors for years Alice, no harm done."

Alice frowned and turned away from her brother, making a great show of her displeasure, "You're going to kill yourself doing that, mark my words."

"We're immortal, now please hush up. I need to hear this." Arthur leaned to the radio and turned the dial to raise it's volume, filling the flat with the sound of Churchill's morose tone.

**_**...All this was no surprise to me. In fact I gave clear and precise warnings to Stalin of what was coming. I gave him warnings, as I have given warnings to others before. I can only hope that these warnings did not fall unheeded.**_**

**_**All we know at present is that the Russian people are defending their native soil and that their leaders have called upon them to resist to the utmost.**_**

**_**Hitler is a monster of wickedness, insatiable in his lust for blood and plunder. Not content with having all Europe under his heel or else terrorized into various forms of abject submission, he must now carry his work of butchery and desolation among the vast multitudes of Russia and of Asia. The terrible military machine which we and the rest of the civilized world so foolishly, so supinely, so incessantly allowed the Nazi gangsters to build up year by year from almost nothing-this machine cannot stand idle, lest it rust or fall to pieces. It must be in continual motion, grinding up human lives and trampling down the homes and the rights of hundreds of millions of men...**_**

"Quite so." Arthur agreed with a nod of his head. Though Alice knew that even he had fallen for the lies and promises of Ludwig's mad boss and allowed his troops to run amok across Czechoslovakia and then the continent of Europe. Yet he, much like Alice herself, continued to believe in the final victory of the civilized society over the barbarism of the Nazis. Though there was a time, during the darkest, and as Churchill said finest, hours for the Britain during which Arthur felt that his days as a free state were numbered and broke down into sobs in front of Alice in this very flat; begging her to pack her bags and run to Canada where the Royal family was to reside if the unthinkable happened. At the same time the rest of the world, save for the Commonwealth States, sat on their bums and watched waiting to see what would happen. Though her boss did his utmost to convince Alfred and his government that they should declare war on Germany for the good of Democracy and peace Alfred refused and his boss, President Roosevelt, was only able to pushed the Lend-Lease Act through congress. Thus the United States had still left the fight in the hands of Britain and it's people, though now they would use American materials to do so. Finally through Hitler's own doing Alice and her brother were given a new nation fighting on their side: Soviet Russia. The wide mysterious land which conjured nightmares and worries in Arthur's mind was a welcome addition to Alice, who had long ago become close with Ivan's own sister. Though she too had begun to worry about Anya when major newspapers, save for the pro-union left leaning ones, began to report horrible things about the Russian state and it's leaders.

"I really do not see why everyone is celebrating, Russia will fall in a matter of days, there is no use lying about it." Arthur suddenly spoke up, "All the experts said so during the strategy meeting this morning. He shouldn't bring people's hopes up like this."

Alice turned her glaze at Arthur and frowned, her lighter mood was instantly ruined with his reminder, though she hoped it would not be the case. Yet, earlier that morning when the the military, political, and social experts had arrived to discuss the situation with Churchill and the Personifications, they all agreed that Soviet Russia would fall in a matter of months like all the other nations which Hitler and his blood soaked machine had invaded.

__"The Russians, as we all know, have always been and still continue to be rather backwards technologically and their armies are in disarray despite everything the Bolshevik strong men have attempted to do."__ they had said, nodding their heads and pointing out data collected through their internal espionage circles within the country. At the time, while Churchill sat chewing on his famous cigar, Alice did not point out that the data was from 1929 and therefore did't encompass the vast industrialization of the country which had been put in place by Stalin. Now she turned to Arthur, "Church thinks the Russians will hold out, plus we really just need to buy time to get the Americans into the war." she pointed to the radio, "This will do the trick. While Ludwig and his horde of Huns fight against Ivan, we will go on wooing Alfred and his government."

Arthur let out a single "ha" before speaking, "You mean you will try to woo Alfred while I go after Allison." he turned back to the radio, "I really don't like it and I'm amazed we've allowed things to fall this far."

Alice frowned, "__We've__ allowed?" she asked, "If I remember correctly__you__ were just as eager to give Ludwig and Herr Hitler what ever he wanted just as long as he didn't go to war, despite __my__warnings on the contrary. So don't go pointing fingers. Really. Now once again let me listen."

Crossing his arms Arthur turned away from Alice to listen to his boss' words,

._**_**..His invasion of Russia is no more than a prelude to an attempted invasion of the British Isles. He hopes, no doubt, that all this may be accomplished before the Winter comes and that he can overwhelm Great Britain before the fleets and air power of the United States will intervene. He hopes that he may once again repeat upon a greater scale than ever before that process of destroying his enemies one by one, by which he has so long thrived and prospered, and that then the scene will be clear for the final act, without which all his conquests would be in vain, namely, the subjugation of the Western Hemisphere to his will and to his system.**_**_

**_**The Russian danger is therefore our danger and the danger of the United States just as the cause of any Russian fighting for his hearth and home is the cause of free men and free peoples in every quarter of the globe.**_**

**_**Let us learn the lessons already taught by such cruel experience. Let us redouble our exertions and strike with united strength while life and power remain.**_**

As the words on the radio faded out and the voice of the BBC broadcaster returned the two Personifications of England, as well as the main representatives of the British Empire, sat in silence; the words of Churchill still fresh in their minds. "He is correct. He has been correct in the past and he is correct now." Arthur said with a nod. "We need to help Ivan and his family the best we can or else Ludwig and his Nazi's will run us down. "

Hearing these words Alice could do nothing but nod, glad that Arthur was ready to over look his held trepidations in helping the Bolshevik regime for the sake of victory. Yet she also knew that Arthur and her really had no other choice. It was either assist or die and she would rather live with an ally than die under the fascist boot. "Yes alright." she said with a nod. "Lets go see what Church wants to do specifically." she said standing. "Good idea." said Arthur putting out his cigarette in the ashtray on his arm rest before standing. Together the two Personifications of England made it down the steps of their building and slowly began to make their way to 10 Downing Street, careful to avoid the destruction and broken rubble of the bombed areas which had still to be completely cleared up. (A task made more complicated because of total blackout orders from the government to combat German bombers.)

The night, thankfully. was not cold and the two of them walked on at a quick pace. Every so often though Alice would pause and tilt her head, listening for the ominous sound of German planes which terrorized her people during the Battle of Britain and still sailed overhead to bring about their hellish cargo upon the innocent heads of London's population.

"Do you really think the Russians will hold out?" Arthur suddenly asked, while Alice side stepped around a puddle which covered their path. Arthur for his part just widened his stride to over step it. Alice shrugged, "Though I can not say for certain, I pray that they do and feel that the Russian public and Ivan himself, will put up a bloody good fight to the Germans out, after all we would do the same."

" We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds," Arthur whispered, quoting another famous line given by Churchill.

"We shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills." Alice said, continuing the quote, which caused Arthur to look to her and smile. Then hooking arms as they walked the two Personifications of England finished together, loud, strong, and with the confidence of hundreds of years of survival behind them: "We shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender. We shall defend this Isle whatever the cost may be!"

What followed then was a burst of laughter which was in it's essence the escape of all the worries, anger, outrage, which had all been wiped away by Germany's insane lust that turned him away from England and into Russia; thus freeing them to regroup, refresh, and strike back where it hurt. It was with thoughts and hopes that Arthur and Alice continued on to meet with their wartime Prime Minister and give him the assurance that they would do their best to support his initiative to assist the Russians and strike back at German barbarism.

****-xxxx-****

"So, what will it be?"

Alice sat on a soft arm chair across from Churchill while Arthur stood beside the large polished desk where the Prime Minister would often spend long nights working.

"The situation is grim." Churchill said with a sad shake of his head, "The Germans had been pushing deep into Soviet territory and there is no end in sight to their victories, if of course the German radios are the be believed."

These words caused Arthur to scowl and exhale the tobacco smoke through his nose before speaking, "So the experts were right, the Soviets are going to collapse."

"Now hold on," Alice said with a frown, "Let us not forget that they were caught by surprise as the rest of us, and they don't have the lucky situation of living on an island to protect them. The German blitz works best in small territories which can be quickly over run, Russia on the other hand has much land to spare, at the same time I'm sure the Germans won't make it to Moscow. Stalin would never allow it."

Arthur sneered at her words, it was a slanted and ugly expression and one he used most often while talking about Alfred or Ivan, though Alice couldn't tell why. "I highly doubt Stalin is in any position to forbid or permit the Germans from doing anything. If they want Moscow they will take it." He turned his gaze to Churchill and sighed, "Mr Prime Minister, I don't think we should waste resources on a government obviously in shambles and close to the end of it's existence."

"Now wait a tick." Alice exclaimed, "A mere moment ago you agreed that we should help the Russians. What happened to all the, "He's right you know." talk?"

Not responding until he had taken a drag from his cigarette Arthur leaned his head back and blow out a couple of smoke rings, "That was before I learned the true nature of the German blitz. If they do to Russia what they were able to do to France, Poland, and the rest of Europe then it would be a waste of our time and resources to attempt to help the Russian government."

Just then Churchill's voice interrupted the argument, "Please please, enough We are not here to argue over whether or not we will the help the Russians, we are here to discuss how we are going to help the Russians. I have already made my position clear, that any government fighting against Nazism will be considered a member of the anti-Nazi alliance, and the longer the Germans are tied up in the east the more time we have to strengthen our positions. Therefore, for now I will have our ambassador contact the Soviet government and offer them aid, to make sure they understand that the British government is invested in their victory. It may, finally, break down the wall of suspicion Stalin has created around himself. Meanwhile, I would like the two of you to continue talking with Alfred and if possible contact your Russian counterparts as well. We must do our utmost to protect our Island and destroy the Nazi monstrosity."

* * *

><p><strong><strong>Moscow, Russian SSR- 22: 00 Moscow Time<strong>**

Anya Braginskaya sat at the end of the long table in the ornate Politburo Meeting Room of the Kremlin Palace. Eighteen hours had passed since the first reports of the German invasion filtered to the Army Central Command and threw the government of the Soviet Union into a panic. At around nine o'clock that morning Foreign Minister Molotov had gone to the radio to announce the German invasion to the citizens of the nation. At the time she and Ivan sat together in his office with the window open so they could hear the broadcast echoing through the city from public announcement centers across the Capital.

**_**Citizens of the Soviet Union:**_**

**_**The Soviet Government and its head, Comrade Stalin, have authorized me to make the following statement:**_**

**_**Today at 4:00 o'clock a.m., without any claims having been presented to the Soviet Union, without a declaration of war, German troops attacked our country, attacked our borders at many points and bombed from their airplanes our cities Zhitomir, Kiev, Sevastopol, Kaunas, and some others, killing and wounding over two hundred persons. Enemy air raids and artillery bombardment commenced also from bases in Rumania and Finland...**_**

The shock of course was immediate and it was hardly helped by the sound of Molotov's obviously nervous tone, evident from the stumbling nature of his words and quivering voice; and together Anya and Ivan could literally feel it spreading through their population as over a hundred million persons learned that the USSR and thus also Russia itself was at war with Germany. Glancing at Ivan, Anya saw that he was slumped in his chair brooding while chewing on his thumb nail, slowly pulling its edge away with his teeth. Reaching out she squeezed his free hand in an attempt to comfort her twin brother to no avail, the man took every betrayal to heart, even when he suspected that the betrayal was to come.

Two hours later later the German Ambassador to the USSR had arrived to give the formal declaration of war to the Soviet Government. Upon hearing that the German minister was meeting Molotov, the Russian woman became infuriated that he had bothered to appear at all, "How dare you show your face here!" Anya had shouted, bursting into the room despite the guards trying to restrain her. "To give us useless papers as an after thought " Turning his gaze at her the elderly gentleman looked at Anya with a sorrowful, uneasy gaze and bowed his head, "I assure you madame, that I personally was against declaring war." he sighed then shook his head, "Unfortunately no one listens to us diplomats who try our best to keep war from breaking out." Though she knew she couldn't blame this specific person for what was happening to her people now, Anya's frustration flared and she lashed out at the first German she'd seen, in this case the elderly Diplomat. "Just go! Get out and don't show your rat face here again!" When the minister quickly left and hopped into his car Anya spat in it's direction, cursing Germany, Hitler, and the invading armies.

Now, with the clock on Spasskaya Tower ringing the tenth hour, Anya sighed and took a sip of her strong black tea. Things had calmed enough to where the leadership and Stalin, recovered from his early morning break down, had called a meeting to discuss the ongoing military situation; and he now sat at the head of this table. To his right was Marshal Semyon Tymoshenko, to his left Commander Gregory Zhukov. Down the left side of the table sat the other important military commanders and ministers: Vyacheslav Molotov, Marshal Kliment Voroshilov, Marshal Semyon Budyonny, President of the Supreme Council Mikhail Kalinin and Anya herself. Down the right side of the table sat the other important commanders and officials: Admiral of the Soviet Navy Nikolai Kuznetsov, Anastas Mikoyan who was in charge of military supplies, Head of the National Committee of Internal Affairs Lavrenty Beria, and her brother Ivan.

Once they all settled in their seats, Stalin open the meeting by turning to Tymoshenko, "Comrade Tymoshenko, please report the operational situation of the Central Command of the Western Front up to 22nd hour." he said, lighting his pipe.

As all eyes turned to the Marshal, who stood and collected his report. Opening the folder he swallowed before speaking, "The German Armed Forces, during the 22 of June, have been able to break through our border defenses." he paused and glanced at the faces of those present. "They were then able to push deep into Soviet territories until reinforcements were able to fill the gaps in our Western Front forces, slowing their progress and causing major casualties to the enemy." closing the folder he glanced at the faces of those present, awaiting further questions. Suddenly Ivan, who sat glaring at the Marshal, spoke "That report was nothing more than a typical creation of our ideological situation." he snapped, his voice harsh and cold.

All eyes turned to the male personification as he stood, obviously challenging Tymoshenko, "You only give a report which contains the information you wish to give to our leadership." he gestured at Stalin, who watched the conversation with obvious interest, though he himself said nothing. "You are obviously ignoring the reality of the situation, which I know Comrade Stalin knows is not so clean and satisfactory." Anya glance at Tymoshenko, noting the perspiration which had broken upon his bald head and felt a tinge of sympathy for the man; he knew the truth better than anyone else, the fact that he'd given such a cleanly edited version of events probably meant the they had gone worse than anyone had expected. Just then another voice broke through the tense silence, this time it was Stalin himself, "Comrade Tymoshenko, please do not cover the truth at this time. To be effective this Committee needs to know what the true situation is."

The Marshall bowed his head slightly, "My apologies, I had thought the first official report needed to be confident in nature-"

Suddenly Stalin stood and looked up at the taller man, his expression hard and unimpressed. "Report the events as they have really transpired Comrade Tymoshenko." he demanded, his voice taking on a frustrated edge. Instantly the tension, which had dissipated slight returned and a deafening silence filled the space. Tymoshenko placed the folder back onto the table and with a great sigh began to speak, "Despite our best efforts, Central Command was unable to attain the exact nature of events on the Western Front." he began though he was quickly interrupted by another voice.

"How far was the enemy able to thrust into our territory?" it was Marshal Voroshilov this time.

__Yes I would like to know too__. Anya thought to herself, sipping her tea.

Tymoshenko turned his thick frame to face the other man before speaking, his left hand clenching and un-clenching into a fist, "Reports on the depth of the enemies breach are inconsistent, I as well as other generals of Central Command were unable to contact the Head of the Western Front, General Pavlov who had left to an unknown location before sending a report to Central Command. Though his second in command attempted to located the General he was unable to." Tymoshenko, now animated by his natural intensity went over to a large map of the USSR on the left wall of the room behind Anya. Turning in her seat the Personification watched as the Marshall took a pen out of his pocket, "At the same time we have gotten some reports from scouting missions, which state that the enemy has entered 20 to 25 kilometers past the general borders of the Soviet Union. Though these numbers fluctuate depending on the territory-"

"Are you tell me that /nothing/ has been done to slow the enemy down?" Spoke up Marshal Budyonny, the curled tips of his large black mustache quivered with outrage.

"Our forces were attacked in the earliest hours. You are well aware that first reports explained that our air force has been decimated and the Red Army is doing it's best to fight back against the Nazi horde."

Stalin sighed and slowly approached Tymoshenko, "Comrade Marshal," he said to the Ukrainian, "Order our troops to prepare a Counter Offensive." he calmly puffed on the pipe, "And to prepare to push our enemies back as much as possible."

Tymoshenko seemed to wilt under the Georgian's gaze, "But we do not know the exact strength of the enemy or where he is going to concentrate his attacks..."

"Yes..." Mikoyan shook his head, though he didn't look up from the papers laid out in front of him, "Perhaps it would be best to wait until morning, to first collect the needed information before sending any Offensive orders."

Ivan set the Armenian minister with a harsh glare, "Do you really propose we do nothing for the whole night?" he asked, his voice quivering with indignation, "Can you imagine the damage that would do to the Red Army's fighting morale? To do nothing would leave the initiative in the hands of the aggressor as well as give them more time to destroy the nation. We need to Counter attack because from what I'm understanding we've done nothing but retreat."

"I agree with Comrade Braginsky." Stalin said, "If we do nothing there is no telling where we will be left standing." he turned to Tymoshenko, "I order that a directive on a Counter Attack be prepared and sent to our troops as soon as possible." He then began addressing the other ministers while making his way to his chair "Meanwhile the national momentum must move to total war production and measures. While we have been caught unawares we may not continue on this path." Once he arrived to his chair Stalin sat then addressed Anastas Mikoyan, "What do you say about our production capabilities at this time?"

Looking down at his papers and reports the Armenian minister spoke, "Unfortunately, a vast majority of our production has been and still continues to be centered around domestic peace time. While the Germans have been producing and preparing for war we've been rebuilding our national standing. I would say that a rough estimate is that our war production at this time is thirty to forty percent. At the same time, a vast amount of our factories are located in the western territories and are now either in the hands of the enemy or under threat of being captured."

"I suppose they should destroyed, to deprive the enemy of their use." said Zhukov, who had up to this time been totally silent. "It may not be the best option for it will also deprive us of production as well but I would rather not give the Germans anymore tools to destroy our armies."

As all eyes turned to the commander an idea suddenly came to Anya's mind, though as she turned it over in thought she had to admit that it sounded insane, "Comrades, what if we were to move the factories." she said, with a slight smirk. "If we were able to take them out of dangerous territory and take them back, maybe as far back as beyond the Ural mountains they would be out of enemy hands and we could use them."

Now it to her that all eyes turned, "Is that...even possible?" asked Kalinin, the elderly President of the Supreme Soviet glanced around the room, his eyes blinking behind thick glasses.

"Theoretically yes..." Mikoyan said slowly, "But I find the very idea to astounding to even consider, it would take months and who knows how much man power to accomplish."

"Yes but considering how much the people have already accomplished in just twenty years," Anya said her eyes sparkling with confidence and excitement, "and I assure you, in a historical standpoint that amount of time is nothing more than a blink of an eye, I really feel that the People can accomplish such an action. That is what our nation is supposed to do, what the revolution was fought for." She stood and leaned upon the table, "The very fact that our Union even exists is a amazing. So I can confidently say that the USSR does not follow the rules of the rest of the world. What would take fifty years in the west took twenty here and what would be seen as an impossible task becomes possible within our borders." She smiled at all present, "Surely you all can not disagree."

"I like how you think Comrade Braginskaya." Stalin chuckled, "But putting aside patriotic zeal I feel that this would be the best strategic move. So, I would like to put this program into effect, under the leadership of Comrade Mikoyan." he stood and dumped the contents of his pipe into the ashtray on the table, "Now then, lets us get to work. Comrade Tymoshenko, Comrade Zhukov, get that counter attack prepared. The rest of you have your duties. Meeting adjourned."

As everyone stood and began to filter out of the room Anya approached her brother, who continued to sit brooding, "Ivan, you shouldn't be so rash. Especially about the counter attack" she gently placed her hands onto his shoulder, "Personally I agree with Comrade Mikoyan, to attack blindly will be little help."

Before her Ivan scowled, "But Anya, doing nothing will be worse. I am sure the troops on the front know what is happening and will act accordingly." He stood and pushed passed her and headed for the door, Anya followed. Stepping out into the hall the two Russias walked towards Ivan's office. "I'm not saying we should do nothing." Anya snapped, "I am saying that we get correct information. That is more important than Counter Attacking."

"Anya."Ivan interrupted, "The decision has been made, this argument we are having is counterproductive. Really, I personally will not allow inaction to destroy this country. It is imperative that we all fight or do you want Moscow to burn a second time?"

Hearing this accusation Anya's eyes widened, "Don't you dare imply such a thing!" she snapped. "I am as invested in our victory as you are Ivan! I just want it done correctly and intelligently!" Ignoring her Ivan increased his pace and didn't speak until they reached his office. Pausing at the open door he said, "As I've already said, the order has been given. The counter attack will happen. Now I have work to do." and with that he slammed the door in her face. Hearing the light click of the lock Anya sighed, it was just like her brother to let his emotions get the better of him, but he was correct in the sense that the orders had been given and she couldn't change them. Turning slowly Anya started towards her own office hoping to get some work done before exhaustion finally caught up with her. She had been awake since the first reports ripped her from bed at four thirty in the morning had been fueling herself with strong tea most of the day, now she worried that exhaustion would catch up with her and she would fall asleep before the needed paperwork and reports were completed.

As she continued down the ornate halls of the Kremlin Palace her eyes flicked from one large painting to the next, each depicting life and struggle of the Soviet people, yet it was the most recent addition, which caused her to pause. Standing before it Anya looked up at the Socialist Realist depiction of a group of Red Calvary men, each sitting on his horse with trumpets in their hands. The painting, was obviously one of optimism, showing what Anya assumed was the end of the civil war and the start of a new life for the red warriors. "It certainly captures a lively scene doesn't it?" a voice spoke up suddenly, causing Anya to jump slightly with surprise.

Turning she saw the portly figure of Vycheslav Molotov, who always seemed to pop up in the most unexpected moments, "Yes..um, it's lovely. Do you know the artist?"

Molotov glanced at the Russian woman before leaning forward to read the small plaque which was installed under the frame, "Mitrofan Grekov- Trumpeters of the First Calvary" he read out loud.

"Ah, yes...of course, Grekov." Anya replied quietly.

Straightening himself Molotov patted Anya's shoulder, "I understand that you and your brother have many differences in how to conduct the war Comrade Braginskaya, I assure you that you are not the only one. Everyone is a Grand Marshal once war starts but I would like to ask, if you could keep those quarrels out of the halls."

Anya blushed, "You heard that?" she asked, sheepishly.

Molotov nodded slowly, "Hm, but not only me, everyone else on this floor heard it as well and it caused lips to start moving." he sighed, "As you know, in times of crisis rumors and panic go hand in hand, not to mention how spies might report the incident."

Anya frowned, "Spies Comrade Molotov?" she asked, glancing around the hall, just to make sure they were alone

"Of course. I'm sure the Kremlin is crawling with them, just like the Reighstag is crawling with our own."

"But...the Reichstag is a burnt shell Comrade Molotov, I doubt one could learn much there."

Hearing this Molotov smiled, "You know what I mean." he said with a chuckle and Anya nodded allowing herself to smile for the first time since being ripped from sleep. "I think I do, though I must admit my nerves have been worn raw today. Absolutely raw."

"I can understand that...I really can. The trick though is to keep this under the covers so to speak. It frightens the enemy who is also about to shit his pants and makes you seem as though you are the one in control of events."

Anya nodded, "Yes...I know, it's just that this new style of warfare has thrown me off balance but thank you for the advice Vyacheslav Mikhailovich."

"Of course, oh and before you go. You might be pleased to know that I received a telegram from our British allies, they have promised us as much support as they can."

Anya's eyes brightened as the English government was mentioned, though Arthur and Ivan often butted heads, she and Alice had always had close friendly relationship until that is the Red Revolution caused her bosses to clamp down on communication with Russia. Maybe now with their goals being one and the same Anya could catch up and maybe even meet with her old friend. "That's wonderful." she exclaimed. "Really it is."

Molotov nodded, "I knew you would be happy to hear it, now if you can excuse me I must report this wonderful news to Comrade Stalin and your Brother." he paused then leaned close to whisper, "Who I am sure will be much less thrilled than you."

Unable to hold back Anya laughed, though she was careful to keep it low, "Yes...Arthur and Ivan have the same flaw of arrogance and a total desire to win at all costs." she said with a nod, "But I'm sure you can break the news to him in such a way that it will make him happy." she added quickly before the two parted ways. Knowing that her friend's government and most surely her people would stand behind the her Russia's step was visibly lighter and her sleepiness was no longer an issue. In fact, she felt energized and ready to take on any challenge, no matter how harsh. __I think I shall compose Alice a telegram. __she thought__,__ __Yes, a nice long telegram to catch up on lost time.__ As if to punctuate the thought, the bells of the Spasskaya Tower clock struck midnight.

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><p><strong><strong>AN:**** Well, there we go. The end of the first day of the German Invasion. It could really be called one of the longest days and I've tried to capture the feeling, though I know it's impossible to do so fully. Hopefully this chapter was not boring, despite the exposition. As always, reviews are welcome.


	5. Vilnius & Minsk June 1941

**A/N: **As I've been doing more research and compiling information and events I've decided that the structure which I have set up for my story won't work well to describe a situation on the scope of the Eastern Front. Thus I've decided to reorganize the chapters to add more events and parts. Now, for those of you who have already read the chapters which have been removed they will be re-posted shortly while those who have just started need not to worry for they won't miss anything which has already been posted. Thank you.

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><p><strong>June 23, 1941<strong>

**Vilnius, Lithuania- 11: 30 AM**

Toris watched as groups of men with guns ran though the streets of his capital city, shooting, shouting, and ordering panicking citizens to halt. Though unlike the other occupied territories of the Soviet Union these men were not Germans or part of any other invading army, no these men were Lithuanians who had taken advantage of the panic and disarray the Hitlerite invasion had created in the forces of the Red Army and Soviet Government to launch a revolt. Without assistance from Ludwig's army the up risers had been able to take over the local post office and police station, meanwhile on the other side of the city the mayor's office was stormed and taken into the rebel's control. The explosive brutal violence had shocked Toris at first, but as the revolt continued through out the early morning and the violence of fire fights and executions continued to spill blood in the streets of his capital, Toris soon found himself becoming a helpless reluctant observer. His sister Tara, the female Personification of Lithuania, on the other hand cheered and whistled to celebrate the death of the Soviet Army and officials. "Finally we have our city back!" she exclaimed happily as she threw her arms around Toris who smiled slightly and patted her on the back, "Uh...yes, yes of course." He didn't want to argue with her, after all as a foreign force the Soviet Union was not his concern and their officials did not meet his sympathies in any way.

Yet, at the same time he did not exactly agree with her that they would live free as before, after all how were the Nazis any better than the Soviets? Had things ended there and his sister just allowed the Germans to take the city and move on Toris would not have argued but then she and along with the Lithuanian Activist Front moved on to cleanse the city of Lithuanians who were suspected of holding Pro-Soviet or Pro-Communist views, and finally Jewish Lithuanians.

Horrified by the slaughter of his own people by the hand of fellow Lithuanians, Toris couldn't stand to watch and so he escaped into his home where he hoped he'd be able to hide out the violence until it came to an end. Yet the walls did little to muffle the sound of doors being kicked open, women and children screaming and crying, and the curses of the executioners as they shot their husbands, fathers, and brothers. As the screams of sorrow burned themselves into his mind Toris burst into tears from the evil of it all, How can this be happening! he thought, his eyes shut tight. Unfortunately his ordeal became worse when the metallic smell of blood and death invaded his nostrils and turned his stomach. Covering his mouth Toris ran to his bathroom and vomited in the tub, heaving over and over. When he was finally done he slowly pulled himself off the floor and approached the sink to wash up, Even animals are less barbaric he thought as he splashed water onto his face, How could we stoop lower than animals?

When Toris dragged himself out of the bathroom he caught sight of something which froze the blood in his vain, Tara, his beloved sister, had moved from wild random slaughter to forcing 'undesirables' to kneel in front of her in a line before she slowly and methodically killed each one with a shot to the head. Unable to be a silent observer any longer Toris burst out of his home and ran to her and grabbed the pistol. Pulling it away from an elderly Jew who knelt before her with his head bowed in prayer, Toris slapped her across the face in anger. "What are you doing!?" he shouted at her. "Have you lost your fucking mind! These are our people! Lithuanians like me and you! H-How can you even allow their slaughter like this? "

Staring at him in shock as she rubbed her reddening cheek Tara tilted her head, "What are you talking about Toris? I'm freeing our city from scum." her tone was calm, even slightly confused by his outrage.

Toris sputtered, "They're not Soviets! Just regular Lithuanians!"

She laughed, "You're joking right? They're Jews and Communist, they don't deserve to be called Lithuanians."

"B-But their citizens of our country! They've lived here for years!"

Tara frowned and her eyes darkened, "Toris, I think your mind has been infected by the Bolshevik disease. These people can never be true citizens of any nation...other than that Judeo-Bolshovik USSR we've just cleared out of our land." She snatched the pistol from Toris' grasp and lowered it to the Jewish man's head once more, "Something else you need to understand is that the Germans are coming and they hate these types of people. So the more Jews and Communists we kill, the better we will live when Ludwig's army finally enters the city." She smirked darkly, seemingly relishing the thought, "and if I have to kill every single Jew and Bolshevik rat in my country, I'll happily do it." She then fired, causing the man's body to jerk back as blood splattered over the wall behind him. "Because keeping Ivan and his shit faced family away from my land-" She paused and casually wiped the blood splatter from her chin, "-is worth more than anything else." she finished.

Turning to face her brother Tara set him with a harsh glare as she pointed the pistol at his face, "But if you feel differently Toris, you have two options- get the fuck out of my sight or shut up, because I swear if you don't I may be forced to kill you and mark my words I will."

Seeing the insane glint in her eyes Toris swallowed and backed away. He still could not understand how this woman, the sister he'd grown up with for hundreds of years, could turn into such an evil brute, no better than the Nazi's she hoped would protect her. /What am I going to do?/ he wondered, /Leaving would be counter productive because there is no where left to go, but staying may be worse./ Walking away from Tara Toris felt his mind go numb, unable to process what he'd just witnessed and what it meant for for the country which was clearly no longer in his hands. Entering his home Toris went to the small alter where he'd hung a cross on the wall, he needed to pray now, to keep his sanity.

Kneeling before the cross Toris prayed long and hard. He prayed for deliverance from the violence and blood shed which had spread across his nation and for his sister's sanity. The fact that she could so easy go on to commit those acts had shaken Toris, it wasn't like her. No, the Tara he knew was kind, hard working, and fun loving. The Tara he knew and remembered had never been the Nationalist who made distinctions between ethnic groups, at least not to the extent of killing them. Continuing to pray Toris wished that he'd seen the changes, had been there to stop them from taking her over, but ever since the annexation of his territory into the USSR he'd been too busy trying to keep Ivan and his government happy. Thus while he had cooperated with the new Soviet authorities, trying to make the best of the situation as he had always done during annexations, Tara slipped away, moving into Nationalistic circles and groups and with it began to think about a Lithuanian free from Ivan and everything which came with him. Now though, the anger and hatred which had become bottled up within had erupted in the worst way and it seemed that like once the genie had been released from it's bottle, returning it would be a hard, long, and maybe even an impossible task.

Just then cheers began to filter through the streets of the capital. Finishing his prayers quickly Toris stood and went out to see what was happening now. The sight which met him gave him an even more uneasy feeling – German tanks rolling through his capital with German jackboots. They're here. he thought as his shoulders slumped, Now we'll be living with them forever. As the parade of troops continued they were cheered on by the public of the capital which ran out to the streets to greet their perceived liberators. Sighing Toris slowly and carefully made his way down the steps and onto the sidewalk so that he could observe the German arrival with everyone else.

As he looked for his sister, Toris was unable to see Tara anywhere, though he was sure she would have been the loudest and happiest person in the crowd. Then, as he was about to turn back and go home Toris saw her, sitting in the back of a German officer's car chatting happily with a fierce eyed, bald commander and Monika Beilschmidt, Ludwig's sister. Like Ludwig she was also a personification of Germany during all it's forms, including it's most recent Nazi incarnation. When Monika saw him she waved and laughed, "Toris! What a surprise!" she called out. Wincing at her thick German accent Toris pushed his way through the crowd and to the car, "Hello Monika." he said quietly, "I see you are enjoying yourself."

Monika nodded, "Oh yes, yes I am but considering how beautifully our invasion is going that is to be expected." Toris nodded then glanced at Tara who was doing her best to hold a conversation with the German commander. "Oh, this is Field Marshal Wilhelm Ritter von Leeb." Monika said, the Field-marshal nodded to Toris but stayed silent. "He's a terrible Nazi but a wonderful commander. He's in charge of our attack though the Baltics." she smiled, " Though to be perfectly honest, your people have been doing such a wonderful job clearing out the Russians here in Lithuania that we hardly needed to fight them. And Tara has been explaining what a wonderful job she and her new friends have done kick starting the cleansing process. Honestly, I never knew you Baltic types were so efficient and quick witted."

Overhearing their conversation Tara turned away from the Commander and looked to Monika, "Oh yes. We've all been dreaming about such a chance ever since Ivan pushed us to accept his armies but now that we've done so well, we hope that your government will support our provisional government and a free Lithuania."

Hearing this Monika glanced at the Commander, her smile faltering slightly. "Hmmm...yes. Well, we'll see what my great Fuhrer decides." she said before turning to Toris once more. Seeing his less than excited face she pouted, "Oh Toris, can't you at least try to look happy? Really it was not easy invading Ivan's territories."

Lithuania tilted his head, _Ivan's territories?_ he wondered, I_s that how she sees us?_ Suddenly his unease at the situation doubled, though his sister seemed to have not noticed Monika's turn of phrase. "Um, yes of course. I congratulate you on a job well done so far." he said with a nod.

Monika nodded, seemingly satisfied, "Yes, well alright, me and von Leeb need to run, Russians won't kill themselves you know," she paused in thought then continued, "Oh, actually some do." Laughing Monika patted Toris' cheek while Tara climbed out of the car, "Be good." she said before they drove off.

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><p><strong>Minsk Belorussian SSR - 9:00 PM<strong>

Fire...

It was all around him, burning, gnarling, roaring fire. The heat and sparks burned his skin, the sound of the dying and the smell of the dead overwhelmed his senses and for the first time in many years Nikolai Arlovsky did not know where to go, or what to do. _I have to go. I have to escape!_ Though his mind shouted he felt as though he himself was unable to speak or scream for help, turning in a slow circle Nikolai searched for a way out but everywhere he looked there was this wall, this horrible orange, red wall of flames. Soon he realized his only escape was to run through the flames, to jump to the other side where sweet freedom waited with open arm. Swallowing, Nikolai closed his eyes, preparing for the task at hand, then charged head on into the inferno.

To his surprise the flames did not consume him nor did they burn when his body pushed through, spreading the wall like a performer opens a curtain. Unfortunately though this relief was shorted lived and Nikolai felt flames licking his left leg and sure enough he saw that his trousers were slowly being consumed by a flame. Yelping Belarus quickly patted at the fire with his bare hands, attempting to desperately put kill the flames to no avail. Instead the red hot tongues licked his sleeves, and burned his flesh and soon the fire spread from his trousers onto his military jacket. With panic gripping him Belarus spun, patting at the fire in a desperate attempt to keep himself alive but the little monster was relentless, teasing him with an inhuman cruelty which faced many in their battle with the flaming entity called fire. _Why won't it die! Oh God I need help!_

Opening his mouth to scream in pain and desperation Nikolai found that he was no longer able to do so. Instead he expelled clean air from lungs which were already burning from the smoke and heat. Within moments the tall, proud, silver haired nation found that the greedy monster called fire had consumed his uniform, leaving charred stains upon his body and now turned it's hunger to his flesh, destroying it in front of his very eyes. _NO! NO! NO! NO! NO!_ Nikolai tried to scream, tried to cry out in desperation. How could he go, he was supposed to be immortal and yet the flames were going to remove him from the face of this planet, leaving hardly anything behind to prove his existence.

**-xxxx-**

"AH!" Nikolai jolted in his hospital cot, screaming and flailing wildly attempting to put out the fire which was no longer there. "HELP! OH GOD HELP!" he shouted, his voice high and desperate, and almost instantly the nurses on staff rushed to him. "What's happening?" one of the younger nurses, a student from the State University of Belarus asked, her eyes wide with fear. "He's having another terror! Quick get me the morphine!" the other nurse, a much older woman ordered as she quickly pushed Nikolai back onto the cot. "Comrade Arlovsky we're here. Everything is fine! You're safe!" she said, trying to over shout his screams. "Calm Calm!" she ordered, using her hand to rub the sweat from Belarus' brow. As the Nation began to calm he quieted down and his eyes darted to take in the environment around him. "W-Where am I?" he croaked, "Are you German?"

The nurse shook her head, "No no, of course not. Nikolai you are in Minsk, you are safe. There are no Germans." she said, continuing to pet his head. "Minsk..." Nikolai whispered, "How did I get to Minsk.."

"Don't you remember Comrade Arlovsky? Your troops, at least those which survived were able to bring you." she smiled softly, "You are very lucky to be alive. They almost didn't notice you in the wreckage of that gun. Had you not attempted to get up they would have missed you completely." Hearing these words Nikolai frowned, wracking his brain in an attempt to remember what exactly she was talking about and pretty soon it hit him like a bolt. "The armory!" he exclaimed, trying to sit up, "Let me go I need to see what happened to it!"

Struggling with the man the nurse shook her head, "No! Comrade Arlovsky you need to stay in bed! The armory is gone!"

"W-What do you mean?" Belarus asked, his eyes widening with shock, "All of it? We lost all of it?" he quickly grabbed the nurses uniform causing the woman to yelp with fear and grab his hand, "Please, please tell me something survived! We were ordered to save the weapons, p-please tell me my men didn't die in vain!"

Too scared to think the Nurse just pulled on his wrist, trying to pry it from her shirt, "M-Mr Arlovsky please let me go-" she squeaked, tears pricked the corner of her eyes, when she had volunteered for a position in the Army's medical staff she hadn't considered the the men would turn against her like this and now the frightening thought that he would hurt her filled her mind, "P-Please let me go. I-I really don't know what happened to the armory, you were here since yesterday." She shut her eyes and tried to steady her legs, meanwhile the second nurse also stood frozen near the medical supply closet too scared to move and too new to her position to remember protocol. Yet, to their luck Nikolai felt his heart skip a beat and he let the poor woman go as he collapsed onto the bed. All the fight ripped from him, "Yesterday..." he whispered, "I've been out of commission for a whole day..." Nodding silently the older nurse turned and waved her younger counterpart over to the bed. "It's alright." she said softly, "Just relax and we'll do our best to bring you back into action." she then attempted to smile as she injected him with morphine, sending Nikolai's head spinning into a dark abyss of his mind.

It was hours later that he awoke once again. "Finally." a voice said, greeting the silver haired man in the bed. Turning his gaze Nikolai saw a large man, with thick wide shoulders and a dark rings under his eyes, "B-Boss? What are you doing here?" he asked in a weak voice. Panteleimon Ponomarenko, the Chairman of the Belorussian SSR smiled slightly, "My dear Nikolai, you are in Minsk, In the military hospital." He patted his shoulder, "You are a very lucky man Nikolai Vladimir'vich, a very lucky man."

Swallowing Nikolai forced himself to sit up, though when he did pain shot up his arm and in his chest, "How did I get here?" he asked, "Last I remember I was firing on a Stuka...and then..then I was burning."

Pentaleimon nodded, "Yes...you were burned rather badly, it was a great bit of luck that your men were able to see you. Even greater that they noticed you were still alive. Though honestly, were you a normal man you would most likely have died from your injuries. But thankfully you are not a normal man."

Belarus stared at his boss for some time as the haze cleared from his mind and the memories returned before looking away, "I don't see what difference it makes." he muttered, "I've failed my missions, Then spent a whole day out of commission, why I don't even know where the Germans are."

"It makes a whole lot of difference Nikolai. You should know that. As for the Germans they have pushed much further than anyone's expected. They have moved fast and are capturing or surrounding all the cities from Bialystok to Minsk and I'm not sure how much longer the Soviet Western Front will hold out." Hearing all this Nikolai's eyes widened as he went pale, "What?" he whispered, finding the idea impossible to believe. After all, everyone had been told for years that the Red Army would be able to withstand any attack. His boss nodded, "Oh yes, the Fascists have been pushing our forces back relentlessly. I myself have been called to Moscow...I don't know why."

Hearing all this Nikolai's face darkened and he forced himself to climb out of the bed, "If you wish to run, go on. I will stay to defend my capital." he said with a nod.

Sighing his boss stood and shook his head, "I am not running Nikolai. I'm following orders, which are to leave Minsk and get to Moscow. I don't even know if I'll survive the trip at this point...but Minsk is turning into rubble. Most of it's citizens are either escaped into the woods or left before the railway was destroyed. If I were you, I would come along. Talk to your brother and see what we can do from there."

Listening to these words Nikolai shook his head, "I can't do that. I'm the Personification of Belarus. I've lived on this land my entire life and my people have spilled blood to protect it. I will not abandon their sacrifice. You commit to your orders if you must. I will stay here."

Sighing Ponomarenko patted his shoulder and nodded slightly, "Right..of course. I understand. You are tied to this land and it's people." Nodding again he suddenly hugged Nikolai. "Good luck Comrade Arlovsky. Stay safe."

With that Panteleimon Ponomarenko, the Premier of the Soviet Socialist Republic of Belarus left for an uncertain future in Moscow, leaving Nikolai Arlovsky to face an uncertain future in Minsk.

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><p><strong>AN:** Alright, there we are. Hopefully this slight re working will help make things move much more smoothly than before. As always thank you for reading.

**History Note: **The June Uprising was a violent uprising against Soviet forces in Lithuania on the morning of June 22nd but only reached Vilnius until the 23rd of June. Taking advantage of the Nazi invasion nationalist forces within Lithuania turned against the disoriented Soviet troops and officials, executing many of the ones which fell into their hands. Then, they turned against Communist sympathizers and Jews, killing many of them before the German forces completely occupied the country and continued even more so after Nazi occupation. (The most famous example of this type of act was the Kaunas Pogrom) At the time of the revolt many nationalists had hoped that the Germans would allow them to set up their own government but it fell apart shortly after the occupation of the country by German troops.


	6. Brest, Belarus- 1941 Part 1

**A/N: **Moving forward. For the next few chapters we will be with Natalia as she fights her way to and in Brest Fortress. This was really one of the first great battles of the Eastern Front and it was here where the famed Soviet resistance was seen by the Invading forces for the first time in the war. Yet, this chapter is a bit long but there is just so much to show it would be impossible with a shorter chapter. If it is too long for readers though, please let me know in a review. Thank you. 

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><p><strong>Brest, Belorussian SSR June 25, 1941<strong>

The bullet slammed into the stone lion which sat on it's pedestal overlooking the plaza much like a king on a throne. Unfortunately the kingdom which it had watched over for so long was now a place of death and destruction as German and Soviet troops battled for dominance. To make matters worse, the Germans not only out gunned the defenders, they also held the higher ground. Peeking around the large column on which the lion sat and protected her, Natalia Arlovskaya aimed and fired her rifle, "I'm out!" she shouted when she heard the dreaded _kling!_ which indicated an empty magazine. Huddled close to her Arsen Hokobyan dug into the many pockets of his recently acquired vest and fished out the few bullets he had left, "This is all I have." he shouted over the gunfire, "You'll need to use them wisely!" Seeing the pitiful arsenal the two of them had Natalia wanted to scream with rage but bit her tongue. Instead she shook her head and pushed the Armenian's hand away, "Keep them. I'm going to make a run to Stepan's group." she pointed to the five men which huddled behind a large overturned statue of Vladimir Lenin which had been blown off of it's own pedestal by German bombardments. Frowning Asren noted the long distance which she would have to run and sighed, "I'd wish you luck but I hardly have any to spare myself." he said, "But I'll try to cover you as best I can." Nodding Natalia moved to the edge of the column, then after several quick breaths she sprinted out into the open while her comrade leaned out and fired off several shots at the German positions atop the steps on the far side of the plaza.

Three days had passed since the initial German invasion and Natalia had spent them slogging through one nasty firefight to another as she attempted to move through the city towards Brest Fortress where she hopped to get a radio to contact her brother Nikolai, and maybe even Ivan. Fortunately for Natalia she didn't have to go at it alone, as she'd met Arsen, an Armenian supply truck driver, in the first few hours of the war, and then later on the two of them had found Stepan Krylov and his rad tag group of fighters early that morning. Desperate for any able bodied soldiers they welcomed Natalia and Arsen into the group, and as luck would have it they too were attempting to reach the Fortress where they hoped to find better conditions for continuing their fight against the invaders.

As she ran Natalia felt the pellets of stone which shot out of the ground where German bullets riddled the ground behind her while ahead Stepan shouted encouragement, his men using their precious ammunition to keep the German machine gunner at bay. Suddenly just as she was to reach safely Natalia slipped on the uneven and loose cobblestones and tumbled to the ground. Screaming with surprise she caught herself but just as she was to dive for the safety of Lenin's huge bald head a bullet clipped her leg. Falling again Belarus ignored the horrible white heat which radiated from her injury and began to crawl for safety while cursing her clumsiness. "Comrade Arlovskaya that was insanely stupid." Stepan, the young commander said pulling her away from Lenin's head and to his back. "I know." Natalia hissed as she lay on the ground trying to catch her breath, "I'm sorry."

Leaning close to her leg Stapan examined the wound, which bled profusely, "I can see an exit wound. That's good in a sense." he said to the Belorussian woman, who nodded. Though it seemed rather pathetic at the moment knowing that the bullet wasn't stuck in her leg was better news than she could hope for, it meant that the healing aspects of Natalia's unique make up would not need to deal with it while it fixed the damage. "But..shit the bleeding is bad." Stepan sighed and removed his belt and tied it tightly around Natalia's wound, causing her to hiss in pain and mutter curses. "This should help, hopefully it'll hold until we get to the Fortress, they have a hospital there."

Shaking her head Natalia forced herself to sit up in a better position, "I'll be fine, trust me, but look, I need ammunition, I'm empty and so is Arsen." she glanced at the Armenian who was still huddled behind the column. Stepan shrugged, "Honestly I don't have much to-" the loud crack of a sniper rifle interrupted him and the German machine gunner's helmet flipped off of his head as the body slumped over. In an instant the gunfight went silent as the Germans dived for cover, shouting and pointing at the Catholic Cathedral across the street from the Plaza, an instant later another crack broke the silence. Watching the enemy positions Natalia felt relief wash over her as the sniper picked them off one by one while the others scattered, "It's a miracle!" Arsen exclaimed happily when he sat down next to Natalia and the others, the relief of finally being able to escape from his dire position was clear on his features. Natalia nodded, "I can hardly believe it myself.." she chuckled then burst into happy laughter when she heard and saw a large group of Soviet soldiers run from the Cathedral into the square.

Waving the troops over to them Stepan pointed to Natalia, "She's been wounded!" he shouted to their rescuers who flooded the area around them, their guns trained to the buildings around the square, just in case. "No no really I'm fine." Natalia said as the leader of the squadron knelt down near her and when he saw her leg he let out a harsh laugh, "Oh yes, fine." he shook his head, "You're going to bleed to death if you don't get this looked at." he said before waving over a medic. Clenching her teeth Natalia tried to explain that she would be fine once her leg has been bandaged but the medical man didn't listen, instead he dug into his bag and got out a syringe and bottle of clear liquid, "This is morphine." he told Natalia, "It'll help with the pain." Shaking her head Natalia pushed the syringe away, "No morphine. I need to think straight." Frowning the medic corked the needle and dug through his bags for bandages and a bottle of medical alcohol, "You'd better find something to bite." he warned and Natalia quickly pulled out her passbook and slipped it between her teeth. Satisfied the doctor pressed the bandage over the wound while Arsen and Stepan held her down, though she attempted to fight the scream which tore it's way up her throat Natalia couldn't suppress it and the muffled sound escaped by her lips. "It's working, the bleeding will slow and then we clean the wound. Don't panic." the medic said. "Removing the pass book with trembling fingers Natalia gulped down air and shook her head, "No matter how many times I'm wounded I never get use to the pain." she muttered to herself, causing he medic to glance at her quizzically though he himself didn't speak.

After a few minutes had passed the cloth which was being held against Natalia's wound was lifted by the medic to see how bad the bleeding was continuing and to his great surprise the wound had completely clotted, "What in the world?" he whispered, his eyes widening slightly, never before had he seen such a horrible injury stop gushing blood quite to fast. In fact, upon closer examination he could actually see see the muscles and other flesh starting to repair itself almost as if time itself had been sped up. Seeing the shock in the doctor's eyes Natalia cursed under her breath and jolted her leg out of the doctor's grasp, pretending she'd had a muscle spasm. "Damn it doctor!" she shouted, as the wound started to bleed again, though not as freely as before, "Haven't you ever seen blood before?" she turned and glared at the leader of the group which had saved them, "Don't you have a medic who knows what he's doing?" she asked. The poor medic though, now lost at what to do since he was sure he hadn't imagined what he'd seen turned to his commander, "Comrade Trechevsky, I...I assure you I know what I am doing. It's just she..." he turned his gaze back to Natalia who glared back, her eyes burning with the command to stay quiet. After all, the truth of their true nature was not something which was broadcast to the general public, since who would understand the fact that their nation was a living breathing human. "Just do your job Yuri. We can't stay out in the open for so long." As if to prove his point a loud shot cracked from across the square and a soldier's neck exploded with blood and his head and body jolted backwards as he crumbled to the ground, clutching his bleeding throat, a moment later he was dead. The rest of the soldiers scattered, either diving for cover behind Lenin or moving to other places of shelter. Gritting her teeth Natalia cursed her luck and pushed the ineffective, confused medic aside and grabbed the bandages to do the job herself, _"Damn it."_ Belarus thought as she wrapped the cloth around her leg over and over _"Now what do I do?" _

The risk of their true nature being discovered, something which had only happened to Romania and France with vastly different results, was one of the main reasons Personifications stayed close to the Commanding Officers of their armies or often went into battle alone. Unfortunately Natalia didn't have the luxury, though she decided that now would be a good time to find a way to separate herself from the group before someone started asking her uncomfortable questions, but first she needed to get out of this rat trap the Germans had made for these men. With the bandage wound tightly around her leg Belarus crawled over to the man the medic called Trechevsky, "Hey!" she shouted over the firefight. Trechevsky sat up, aimed, and fired his rifle at the German attackers before turning his attention to the silver haired woman, "What?" he asked.

"Give me a weapon so I can fight!"

"Weapon? I don't have anything to spare-"

Just then, as it had happened before, a sniper rifle cracked in the the distance and now it was the Germans who were pinned down behind their fortifications. Seeing this Trechevsky smiled and called out loudly, "Alright guys! Get back to the church!" Quickly the men of the squadron began to leave the square in a crouching run under the snipers protection. Frowning, Natalia glanced down at Trechevsky's belt where she saw a pistol in it's holster, sighing she realized that she'd have to take on a role of someone important who would get the attention and respect of soldiers around her. "Look here you." she suddenly snapped, grabbing the man, "I'm, an agent of Soviet State Security and I _need_ a weapon." she set the commander with a harsh glare, knowing that her grey blue eyes often were enough to bend people to her will. Staring at them now the Commander cursed and ripped his pistol out of it's holster, "Here." he said offering it to her. Thanking the man Natalia took the pistol and slipped it into her belt, then she crawled over to the edge of the Lenin statue . Making a quick estimation at how far she'd have to run Natalia brought herself up into a crouch, ignoring the slight pain the move had caused, though relieved to feel her leg had already healed enough to support her. A moment later Natalia dashed out from behind the statue towards the nearest building. As she ran she heard Arsen calling out her name, and Trechevsky telling him that she was a political officer from the secret police. Sprinting as fast as she could Natalia covered the distance between the temporary shelter and the building without the same troubles as before as the covering fire from the Soviet troops was enough to leave her without harm, though someone did take a pot shot in her direction; and she entered the dark gaping doorway which lead into the multistory structure. Making her way deeper into the rooms Natalia began to carefully pass through the dark corridors of whatever establishment had existed here before the war, and quickly discovered that it was a large post office. "Great, OK." she panted to herself, "There has to be a another entrance here. Carefully Natalia made her way through the building, the scrape of her boots against the hardwood floor loud and unnerving. In fact Belarus felt like an invader herself as her eyes slowly took in the scenes of destruction around her, paper, broken glass, and hundreds, upon hundreds of personal letters were strewn about in every room and corridor. As she continued she couldn't help but read the words on the ripped and burnt pieces of letters which caught her attention:

_Dearest Mama, I am so excited to tell you that Syrozha has been offered a commission at Leningrad..._

_Dear Father, I am getting married..._

_Dear Mother, I am buying a new home in Minsk..._

_Mama! Papa! I'm pregnant with our first child!_

Soon Belarus found herself with a lump in her throat and tears pricking the corner of her eyes as the cost of the last three days began to overwhelm her. _This is so unfair_. she thought, _So fucking unfair, My people didn't deserve this. _Suddenly she heard a voice calling her name, freezing in her tracks Natalia turned and carefully backtracked, doing her best to avoid the debris on the floor. With her body pressed against the wall Natalia came to the turn in the corridor and peeked around the corner, there she saw a Soviet soldier looking into a room, his head and shoulders blocked by the door. "Natalia?" the soldier called again, louder than before. Hearing the Armenian accent, Natalia sighed and slipped the pistol into her belt before answering, "Arsen, what are you doing here?" she asked stepping out into the corridor.

Jumping with surprise Arsen closed the door and turned to face her, rifle in hand, "Oh! Natalia, there you are." he said, lowering his weapon, "I was looking for you."

"Yes, I can see that, though I thought you'd be with the others."

"Ah...well." Arsen shrugged, "I couldn't bring myself to allow such a beautiful woman go out unescorted in such a dangerous city." he chuckled then gave her a lopsided smile. Raising her brow Belarus looked the young soldier over, a little smile tugged the corners of her mouth. "I see...well I thank you for the protection, though I can take care of myself."

"Oh, yes of course. I wasn't trying to imply you couldn't I was just...you know, being a gentleman."

"Of course." Belarus chuckled, "I'm sure your mother will be very proud." she said, causing Arsen to visibly relax and nod, his smile widening. "Now then, lets get moving, we still have a long trip to the Fortress and I would like to get there before night fall."

With that Natalia turned and continued her way through the twisted, deserted hallways of the building with Arsen close behind. Though she hadn't expected the extra company, she had to admit that it was welcome and going at it completely alone was never a good idea; at the same time Arsen had proven himself to be a capable companion so far, or at least he knew how to stay out of trouble and didn't get tangled up often.

Walking briskly the two of them made quick work of the post office and came to an exit door. "Alright...I'm going to check if it's safe. You guard my back." Natalia ordered as she readied her weapon and together they carefully stepped out onto a narrow street on the other side of the post office. A quick glance at the addresses upon the buildings around them showed that they were near the street corner of Karl Marx street and Pushkin street, "Alright, where are we going from here?" Arsen asked, his eyes trained on the windows and rooftops where enemy soldiers could fire upon them. Natalia frowned and looked up the street, "North takes us to German positions..." she muttered, "So honestly we can only go south, and if I remember correctly that's where the river is anyway. Come on." With that Belarus began to jog down Karl Marx street, followed closely by Arsen.

**-xxxx-**

Roderich Edelstein fished out a box of Soviet made cigarettes, which he had taken found on the body of a Russian soldier, and shook out a long tobacco filled tube. Slipping the cardboard end of a cigarette into his mouth and bit down to hold it in place while he lit it with a match. It had been a long while since the Personification of Austria had been able to smoke a good cigarette since the Nazi party frowned upon the practice, often calling it another example of Jewish corruption of the Aryan race, and thus cigarettes and smoking areas were either banned completely or heavily regulated. Now though Roderich inhaled the nicotine laced smoke deeply into his lung and relaxed as the drug seeped into his system. Exhaling through his nose Austria smiled, _My God, I've forgotten how wonderful a real cigarette can taste. _He thought as he took another drag from the cardboard tube.

"How many times do I have to warn you about smoking over your rationed amount ?"

Frowning Roderich shot a side glance at Fritz Schlieper, the commander of the 45th Infantry Division of the German Army, _Leave it to a Prussian bastard to ruin my day _he thought. Though to the commander he said, "Six cigarettes a day is impossible during war time Fritz. Plus these," he held up the smoking cardboard tube, "are a war trophy more than anything else. It would be a unseemly to let them go to waste."

When the commander frowned Austria smiled and took another drag, "Plus," he said exhaling slowly, "Laws don't apply here."

Sighing Schlieper shook his head and turned his gaze back to the road ahead, "It's your skin." he muttered.

Ignoring the Prussian Austria continued to smoke, enjoying an old pleasure which,ever since the union with the Third Reich, had been struck with a most painful blow; and it was one of the few downsides to the Union with Germany that he was willing to admit_. _Other than that Roderich, like many Austrians had and still supported unification with Germany as a way for his nation and people to once again regain their past glory under the Hapsburg crown. Whats more Hitler's great success as Fuhrer only filled Austria with pride as the man had come from the stock of his countrymen.

Of course that didn't mean that everyone had supported the Union. Roderich's sister Annaliese for example had made it clear from the very start that she was concerned with the idea. Stating that a Union with Germany would lead their nation towards a path that was utterly unpredictable along with the fact that losing one's sovereignty was a mistake. At the time he too worried about the Unification movement, though it had more to do with the concern that his nation would fall under the control of the Prussian nobility which had held sway over the German Empire for so many decades. Yet, when it was clear that Hitler had taken complete control of Germany _and _Prussia Roderich found himself becoming a vocal supporter, stating that a loss of sovereignty was a small price to pay for a return to wealth, success, and power; all the things Hitler represented. At the same time he found himself not only ignoring his sister's worries but also publicly mocking them as examples of female hysterics in the face of obvious logic. Unsurprisingly his sister no longer openly questioned Roderich or the Nazi party, much to his relief, especially since an open riff between the two Personifications representing Austria would create a dangerous public sentiment which the Third Reich couldn't afford once war broke out, and break out it did. Since then Roderich had been on the front lines from Czechoslovakia to Poland, France, and finally Russia.

Yet, much to his surprise, the invasion was not going as smoothly for Schlieper and the 45th division. Made up of mostly Austrian men formally part of the 4th Austrian Division before the _Anschluss_ of 1938, the 45th had been given a simple task of taking the city of Brest and neutralizing the large fortress which carried the same name. Yet, unlike in other places of the front where the armed forces were making vast strides in their invasion, the 45th was stuck fighting against the resistance which was no closer to falling as it had been during the first day of the war. For Roderich though, this inability to capture the fortress was becoming more than an annoyance, and the longer it stood, the worse his image became with the Nazi leadership of the Third Reich.

Tapping the ash from the end of the cigarette Roderich's gaze fell upon the street which his personal car was now driving though, _It won't last much longer _He thought, _I'd give them all another day or two before they crawl out from desperation or we may need to storm the fucking thing with some help from the locals. _Taking another drag Roderich nodded, "_Hm...yes. It might be a good time to use the sub-humans against their own armies. _Just then much to Roderich's great surprise two Soviet soldiers, a black haired young man and a silver haired woman, ran out from Karl Marx street right into the middle of the avenue, right in front of the staff car. Exclaiming loudly the driver of the car slammed on the breaks, causing Roderich and Schlieper to jolt forward in their seats. Meanwhile the auto screeched to a halt mere centimeters away from the two individuals which stood frozen in place staring at the car with wide eyes and pale faces.

Cursing under his breath Austria grabbed the back of the front seat and pulled himself off of the floor between the front and back seats. "What the fuck is wrong with you?" he growled at the driver as he brushed ash and embers from his uniform jacket, yet instead of getting the driver's response he heard the woman gasp, "Austria?" she seemed to ask. Blinking with surprise the Personification of Austria turned his gaze at the two solders before him and his heart skipped a beat when he saw the face of the silver haired female. "Belarus..." he hissed.

**-xxxx-**

Belarus stared at Austria with bated breath as her mind attempted to process what her eyes were seeing. "W-What's do we do now?" Arsen asked, glancing nervously between Natalia and the car filled with obviously high ranking Nazi's. Not tearing her eyes from Roderich, who also stared at them without moving, she carefully tightened her grip on the pistol. "We...Run!" she shouted and raised her weapon not at Austria or the man sitting next to him but the driver of the car who exclaimed with anger as his hand flew to his holstered Luger. Unfortunately for him Natalia's reflexes were faster and she fired off two shots into his chest before turning and running as fast as she could away from the German car, the young Armenian at her side. "And _now_ what do we do!?" Arsen shouted at Natalia as the sound of gun fire exploded behind them, the bullets either whizzing past them or ricocheting off of buildings around them. Clenching her teeth Natalia forced her legs to move faster, harder, to get as far away from the car as she could while Roderich and the other man dealt with the driver. If she was lucky they would try to save him, which would buy Arsen and herself some time before they came after them with that car.

Meanwhile in the distance Natalia could see the walls of the Brest Fortress through the trees which were situated where the rivers Mukhavets and Büg met,"There." she panted, pointing to the red bricks of the structure, "We'll find safety there." Nodding Arsen pushed himself harder, though he had a tougher time running because of the rifle in his hand. It was then that Natalia heard the car's engine rev up behind them. Turning she saw Roderich on the driver seat, while the man who had been driving lay on the ground back where they had met up in the road. Cursing she raised her pistol and fired, aiming as best she could but alas the bullet only struck the body and ricocheted with a spark. "Fuck, Arsen can you shoot out the tires?" she asked, her voice high with worry and yes fear. Glancing back the Armenian swallowed hard, "I-I can try" he said." before stopping to aim and fire. Unfortunately while he was close the bullet struck the hub cap instead and more sparks flew. "Shit."

"Arsen this way!" Natalia shouted as she took off running again.

"We need to get off the road!" the Armenian shouted.

Natalia knew he was correct, it would be impossible for the two of them to outrun a car, especially on such a wide avenue like this one. Gritting her teeth the silver haired woman turned and fired once more, this time the bullet hit the glass of the windshield which exploded from the combined force of the bullet striking it and the pressure caused by the air moving against it. "HA!" she exclaimed when Roderich lost control of the vehicle as he used his arms to shield his face from the flying shards. Next to her Arsen laughed and shouted out a few choice words in Armenian. Grabbing his arm Natalia turned, "Come on!" she said and started to run forward, this time towards what looked like a large fenced off area of forest on the corner of Masherav Avenue and Lenin street where the city authorities had been clearing out the trees, "We can lose them there." Nodding Arsen followed and together the two of them were able to climb over the wooden fence and drop down to safety on the other side.

Standing up Natalia Belarus brushed the dirt from her clothes and looked around the construction site where large machines were put in place to remove tress and clear out underbrush for expansion of the city. "I don't hear anything, other than gun fire of course but that's nothing new." Arsen said as he continued to brush dirt and dried pine needles from his clothes. "Yeah." Natalia said, cocking her head to the side as she attempted to single out the sound of Roderich's car from the other sounds of battle which had been flaring up non-stop in Brest since the start of the attack, luckily for the two of them it seemed that her shot had effectively removed the Austrian as a threat, at least for now. "Alright," Natalia sighed, "let's move." and together the two of them moved swiftly yet carefully thou

**-xxxx-**

Roderich cursed loudly as he kicked open the dented door to the staff car and rolled out of the car, which now stood smoking where it slammed into the store front. _Damn_ _bitch_ he thought as he lay on the ground, breathing quick shallow breaths. As he lay there he felt thick dark red blood seeped out of his open mouth, the pain in his tongue making it obvious that he'd bitten it open when his face slammed into the steering wheel during the crash, while the blood flowing freely from cuts and gashes in his forehead where the shattered glass had cut him up began to run into his eyes and dripped down onto his cracked glasses. Trying to catch his breath Roderich swallowed and gagged at the warm metallic taste which hit his throat, "Sh-Shit" he whispered, The surprise sighting of Russia's sister Belarus, here in Brest, had shaken him, not only because of it's wholly unexpected nature but also because it represented a golden opportunity unlike anything he'd seen before in the war. If he would be able to take Natalia prisoner in what was literally the first few days of Operation Barbarossa, it would be a most glorious achievement to say the least, surpassing any Fortress or battle by a long shot. Also it would show Ludwig and the Nazi leadership that he was a proud and effective warrior who deserved more than just a sideline role. With such thoughts running through his head Roderich decided then and there that he needed to capture Natalia at any cost and any means at his disposal, but first he needed to be able to stand. Rolling over onto his front Austria forced himself up onto his hands and knees after which a fit of coughing rocked his body and sent blood splattering out of his mouth,. Once the fit was done he winced as pain throbbed through his chest. _Damn fucking bitch. _He thought as more coughs racked his body, followed by more pain. _I swear I'll find her and when I do...I'll get my sweet revenge._

Just then he heard the sound of heavy vehicles coming down the road, turning his head he glared at the column of German trucks, armored cars, and troops transporters which approached the staff car. _Sure took them long enough._ He thought as he forced himself to stand on weak and wobbly legs, the entire column of personnel had originally been traveling with Roderich and _Generalmajor_ Schlieper early on but they had decided to go on ahead since reaching the Fortress had been a priority for them as new orders had arrived demanding that the thing be taken already, now they were just arriving near. When it dawned on the men that it was Roderich and the staff car broken and bloody on the side of the road the column stopped and the Personification of Austria was surrounded by men in uniform as they came over to him attempting to help. "W-What happened?" asked one of the commanders of a group as he looked over the bloody mess Roderich had become. "We were attacked by partisans." Roderich lied, "They ambushed us and tried to kill the _Gernalmajor._ They escaped to the Fortress, the cowardly bastards."

Hearing this explanation the commander's face twisted with rage, "Is that so?" he asked, "Well, then I promise that we will teach those bastards a lesson they will never forget. We'll run them out and have them shot mark my words." Nodding Roderich leaned against the hood of the car as Schlieper was pulled out of the back seat where he had been found laying unconscious yet uninjured. "You should go to a medic though." the Commander added "You're a bloody mess." Looking down at himself Roderich sighed and nodded, "Yeah a mess."

**-xxxx-**

"We're here, finally." Arsen wheezed as he pulled himself out of the water of the river and onto the main island where the Fortress Complex was located. "Don't get comfortable, we may not be safe yet. Listen." Quieting down the two of them heard the clear bark of orders being given to soldiers on the other side of the large red walls which encircled the entirety of the island, unfortunately they words were in German. "Damn you can't be serious." Arsen snapped, pounding the ground with his fist, "All this and it's been taken."

Natalia frowned and shook her head, "Not necessarily. I visited this place on the 21st. It's rather large and has multiple buildings and even a central island, so there may well still be an area in the hands of our guys." Arsen though seemed unimpressed, "I'd rather not risk my life for a maybe, lets just swim out into the countryside." he said, pointing to the forests and fields which were situated south west of their current position. Sighing Natalia was about to agree when a shout in German caught them by surprise. Not thinking but acting on instinct Natalia leaped from her position and grabbing Arsen's arm pulled him to his feet and began to run until the two of them reached a huge gaping hole which had been basted out in the main wall.

Climbing through it the two found themselves inside a half destroyed, smoking burning complex which had totally lost the lovely charm which Natalia had first experienced when she visited the troops four nights ago. Blinking Natalia froze as her gaze scanned the destruction around her. _How many bombs did they use here? _She wondered to herself. In fact the amount of blast craters on the ground and rubble all around made it look as though the Germans had dropped enough bombs to level a city block, yet the buildings still stood and even the large castle on the central island could be seen standing tall despite the chunks of bricks missing from it's walls. "Don't stop! Come on!" Arsen shouted and it was now he who dragged Natalia to a building.

Panting as she ran Natalia felt the horrible soreness in her legs and the burning of her lungs starting to get the better of her. She'd been running and breathing in smoke for far too long and now all she wanted to do was collapse onto the ground and just drift away but alas that was impossible. Just then she heard the sound of the Russian language yelling out encouragement to them. "Run run! Come on!" Turning her gaze to the building Natalia's eyes brightened as she saw Soviet soldiers waving to them through the blasted out windows of the building. A few even jumped out to help drag them into the building. Once inside though the soldiers helped the two of them into the basement where Natalia saw a group of soldiers, possibly forty or so soldiers, huddled around a radio operator who continuously sending a radio message, "This is Brest Fortress. This is Brest Fortress. In need of support. I repeat we are in need of support."

Taking in the sight Natalia felt her heart drop, she had horribly miscalculated the damage of the German attack and the main forces of the Red Army were not breaking through to German lines to liberate the city.

Hearing them a tall man in a lieutenant's uniform turned and faced them, "What's this?" he asked, "more hostages sent to us by the Fascists?"

"No Comrade Lieutenant, these two said they tried to escape the fascists in the city by coming here. They swam across the river."

Raising a brow the Lieutenant looked Natalia and Arsen over with a critical gaze, "Across the river eh?" he asked then shook his head, "Well you two have the worst timing." he said. "The German broke through the gates this morning. Now we're fighting off attacks with flame throwers, the only bit of luck is that this is an armory so we have all the weapons. The bad news is that we're not one group, we have maybe fifty men in this building's basement, another might have 100 or more. The main force though is there, on the citadel." He pointed in the direction of the castle on the central island. "It's also where most of the officers are. Anyone else is either dead or surrendered."

Arsen sighed, "Great, out of the pan and into the fire." he said.

Natalia just closed her eyes and lay on the floor in silence. _Into the fire indeed..._

* * *

><p><strong>AN:**Well, there we are. As always reviews are welcome and thanks for reading.


	7. Brest, Belarus 1941 Part 2

A/N: Hello! I apologize to those who have been following this story for the length of time it took me to finally update, but things are starting to move along now. In this chapter we're going to jump right into the action from the ending of the previous chapter. So, here we go.

* * *

><p>Natalia had only been able to close her eyes for what seemed like a mere moment before they snapped open again from the sound of battle coming from above ground in the Fortress Complex. Clenching her teeth she forced herself to sit up quickly searched for her weapon, yet for some reason the pistol which she had kept with her was no longer there. Frowning she looked about her dank, dark surroundings, noting the men with rifles and machine guns rushing up the stairs to the upper lever, most likely to join the skirmish which could now be heard outside. At the same time, as Natalia rose and bushed the dirt and grime from her uniform, she saw that the rest of the inhabitants of the cellar were either wounded men, women, and even some children or those who were just too exhausted to fight anymore.<p>

This created quite a suppressing atmosphere with the moans and groans of the wounded mixing with the sounds of muffled gunfire from above. Taking a deep breath Natalia shook herself back into reality and began to search for Arsen or the man in charge so she could discuss the current situation at the Fortress and elsewhere. To her luck she found them both, together at the far edge of the cellar, on a pair of crates having what looked like a rather animated conversation; though she was unable to clearly make out what exactly they were discussing. _Right then, _Belarus thought before straightening her uniform and carefully making her way to the men.

As she approach the two of them, it was Arsen who noticed her first and his face momentarily brightened as he stood, or so it seemed to Belarus; as with the lighting in the basement it hard to be sure. When Potapov turned, his face too lit up and he was quick to stand and greet her, "Ah! Comrade Arlovskaya, how nice to see you are finally awake." he chuckled and gestured to the crate he had been sitting on, "Please, sit. We were beginning to worry about you to be honest." Blinking Natalia sat and glanced at Arsen before looking back to Potapov, "Did something happen which would cause you to worry about me?" she asked.

"Quite." the Lieutenant said as he slid a third crate for him to sit on, "You passed out the moment you hit the dirt and slept like a log for a number of hours."

"Oh..." Frowning slightly Natalia thought back to how long she had been running through the streets of Brest and how she herself had insisted on sleeping as little as possible; volunteering to stand watch as often as the others would allow. "I guess the war effort finally caught on to me." she muttered. "Oh, you are hardly the worst case. I heard from a young man who had been able to leave the main Fortress on the citadel that their doctor spent so many hours working on the wounded that he was found sleeping _standing up."_

Natalia's brow arched slightly when she heard this but she didn't reply. Instead she looked to Arsen and asked, "So...what have I missed?" When he didn't answer she glanced from Arsen to Potapov, waiting to see which one of them would speak first. In the end it was Potapov who gestured to Arsen stating, "Our young Comrade here was just explaining how you two arrived to us." he shook his head with a chuckle, "A harrowing tale indeed."

Glancing at Arsen Natalia did her best to keep her expression calm and collected, yet she could not guess how much the Armenian had said, nor could she foresee how Potapov would react to the fact that the two of them were so near a high ranking member of the enemy's forces and had not been captures or killed. "Yes, yes it was quite insane." Natalia agreed carefully, watching the Lieutenant with a weary eyes. "Though." Potapov continued, "what really caught my attention was when he said you were a member of the security service and was sure he was either mistaken of lying. Though he refuses to take back his words, even after I told him how you had come to our Fortress the day before the war with the Red Army's Song and Dance Troupe" Lieutenant Potapov chuckled slightly, "I mean surely someone who sings and dances as well as you can not be a Politruk."

At first Natalia frowned with confusion and looked to Arsen, not sure how he had come to tell the Lieutenant those things. After all, she had told him very little about what she actually did professionally, not with the Song and Dance Troupe and especially not about her being a National Personification; but then she remembered how she had barked and Trechevsky, demanding his pistol on account of her being a 'member of the 'Soviet State Security'. Obviously the Armenian had overheard her and recounted that to the Lieutenant, thus making her fib a lot more complicated. Taking a deep breath Natalia decided that there was no possible way for her to deny those words now, with the truth being more dangerous than the lie, she nodded. Now Potapov's face paled and he quickly straighten up as much as he could, "F-Forgive my words, I was just-" he swallowed, wondering if he'd just ruined his future career in a few simple words.

Seeing his discomfort Natalia quickly held up her hands, "No no, please. Don't worry about it. It is a completely understandable mistake and one which is actually a compliment for my part. After all, what spy wishes to be noticed the moment they appear. Especially when I must be on stage in foreign lands." Hearing these words Potapov visibly relaxed, "Ah...yes of course. The Troupe has toured in many places. Of course." he smiled and nodded. Swallowing herself Natalia too relaxed now that the worst of that situation was over, "So what is the situation here?" she asked quickly changing the subject away from herself, "It seems as though events are a lot worse than I ever imagined."

Potapov sighed with a nod, "Unfortunately so. At least from my vantage point." he replied, anger twisting his features, "The Germans overran the complex rather quickly and took various positions here, since then they've tried to over run the Fortress on the Central island but so far they have failed because of the high rate of losses given to them be it's defenders. As for the rest of the front...or even the city I couldn't tell you anything worth a thing. My men and I have been stuck here since the invasion and I do not think we are getting out anytime soon."

These words, spoken by the Lieutenant caused Natalia a great deal of discomfort, not only because she could now see that coming to the Fortress was less than helpful but also because she now considered that she would be left here without food or water for however long the Red Army could hold out. "How long do you think they'll hold up?" she asked, to which the reply was a shrug. "I have no way of telling you that." Just then Potapov's eyes widened as he snapped his fingers, "Commissar Yefim Moiseyvich is there." he said standing up. "I'm sure he'll be very interested in talking with you. Not to mention he'd probably have much more to tell you since he's got a telegraph system there." Belarus blinked, _A telegraph system? That's exactly what I need! _She stood, "That would be a wonderful help to me, Just as soon as I figure out how I am to get into the Fortress."

"With that I can not help you. I am having trouble fighting back the attacks here as it is and with so many wounded and dying..." Potapov trailed off as his gaze fell upon those who lay upon the dirt floor and shook his head, "If you wish to take the risk, you are on your own."

Following the Lieutenant's gaze Natalia sighed, "I understand, there is no need to assist me." Suddenly she yawned, covering her mouth quickly as the last hold of sleep left her body, _I'll leave tonight, after dark._

* * *

><p>A knock sounded on the pine door on the room where Roderich Edelstein now found himself. It had been many hours since he'd seen Belarus and since then his mind had become consumed by the thought of capturing her. For him the idea of winning glory and impressing the leadership of the Third Reich, and more importantly of Ludwig himself, had taken a second place to the personal feeling of vengeance which he now had against Natalia. The woman, and her rutty companion, had humiliated him earlier and left him in a position of weakness in front of his men and commander. <em>For that she deserves the worst punishment! <em>Therefore, taking Brest and it's Fortress would be a top priority, over taking everything else just so he could get his hands on Russia's younger sister, and after he had explained the situation upon the phone the German High Command agreed. In fact, the capture of Brest Fortress would become a major propaganda event.

Unfortunately whatever progress had been made that day, and there was some, had been in taking more of the Complex while the Fortress itself still stood with it's resistance. _That's fine. _Roderich thought, _They can't hold out for much longer. Trapped like rats they'll have to surrender sooner or later. That much is certain. _Just then there came a knock from his door, followed by a voice, "You requested me? Herr Commander?"

"Ah." Roderich said to himself as he forced his aching body to move, slowly sitting up and then standing on painful limbs. "Yes yes." he called out, "Just a moment." Taking a deep breath Roderich forced himself to put on an air of total confidence and control as he made his way briskly to the door and opened it. Out in the hall stood a man in an army uniform, his face was full with kind features which seemed to make him look younger than he truly was; in his hands he held a sketch pad and a box of pencils and pens. "Hail Hitler." the soldier said, thrusting out his arm, palm down. "Hail Hitler." Roderich responded, returning the salute, though he simply raise his hand to shoulder level before stepping aside. "Please enter."

When the soldier did Roderich gestured to a chair near the bed, "Sit." he said before taking his own place on the bed. "So, you are Paul Fashingbauer?" The Soldier nodded, "That's right." he said taking a seat on the chair with his sketch equipment on his lap, "How may I help you?" "I have been told that you are the best sketch artist in our Division. It seems that your work is popular amongst the men, most of all your sketches of women." he gave Paul a pointed look and chuckled. This though caused the other man to turn slightly red with embarrassment, "I don't often draw those types of images." he quickly explained, then averted his gaze, "It's usually a request for drawing of a sweetheart back home, or maybe a future would be wife. Nothing...sexual I assure you." Shaking his head Roderich quickly held up his hands, "No no, do not worry. You are not in any sort of trouble. Really. Relax. Here-" he fished out the box of Soviet cigarettes and held them out to Paul, "Have one."

Eying the box skeptically Paul slowly reached out for a cigarette and slipped it into his pocket, "I'm actually very happy that you have a talent for life like art. It is exactly what I need." Roderich took out a smoke for himself and lit up before continuing. "You see, I was attacked earlier today by a group of Soviet partisans in the city. Their leader, the Belorussian bitch, is still here in the city I am sure. I need an image to show our men so that they will be on the look out." Paul blinked, processing what the Austrian man had just told him, "A woman partisan?" he finally asked.

Roderich nodded, "Yes, believe me, these Slavic women are absolutely barbaric. Give them a moment and they will revel in destruction." he shook his head, "She is of the utmost danger." Nodding Paul was quick to agree in a quivering voice which made it perfectly clear that Roderich's words had, in a small way, shaken him. After all, for most of his life the Church as well as the state made it clear that women were to involve themselves in the business of family and home, while men protected the nation and did all to keep the peace. "That is quite horrible I must say." he said as he removed a pencil from a box and prepared to draw, "But I am more than happy to assist your hunt for her, whatever way I can."

Roderich smiled and took a quick drag, "Good." he said, "I am very glad to hear that. Now, let us start." Thus for the next twenty minutes or so, Austria worked with the artist Paul, first by giving a most detailed description of Natalia's features, from her silver shocked hair to her full healthy colored lips as well as her eyes which could make any man, and maybe even woman quiver from intimidation as well as desire "It sounds like she has made quite an impression on you Sir." Paul said after a while, "For you to have memorized so much of her appearance in such great detail, from such a short time of seeing her, is quite astounding." Hearing this Roderich gave a tense smile, "Well, in a moment close to death one tends to notice quite a bit." he quickly explained. "Now then, how close are you to being finished?" "Not much longer." Paul promised, "I just have to work on the eyes and...perfect a few lines." He nodded to himself as well as to Roderich and continued working in silence; until he finally finished and frowned. Raising a brow Roderich exhaled the smoke in his lungs and snubbed his cigarette before standing, "What's wrong?" he asked going over behind the soldier to see his work and was very pleasantly surprised. "My goodness-" he whispered, "It's...almost a perfect rendition."

Hearing this Paul looked up from his drawing at Roderich, "This is the woman who attacked you?" he asked, surprise tinting his voice. "Yes..." Roderich replied, looking at the man with confusion, "What's so bothersome about that?" "Well sir, it is just that she is a dancer."

Roderich's brows furrowed at Paul's words. How could the man proclaim Natalia Arlovskaya a dancer when he shouldn't have known she existed in the first place, let alone seen what she did for a living. "A dancer?" he asked, "How could you know that?" "Well because her image was everywhere when we first entered the city. They showed her dancing in a military uniform, or maybe it is what the Bolsheviks always wear, I do not know but still, she is a dancer." As the man spoke Roderich's frown deepened until finally he decided that he needed to see for himself, "Show me." he said taking the image from Paul's hands, "I would like to see this with my own eyes. "Uh-Right of course. Right away sir!" Leaping up from his chair Paul left the room in search of a poster advertising the arrival of a Song and Dance show for the Red Army, some of which had been collected as souvenirs by the Reich's troops which entered Brest.

Before long he returned triumphant, "Here we are sir." he declared as he entered the room, holding in his hands a rather large paper on which the image of Natalia glued onto cardboard,. Dressed in the same style of uniform Roderich had seen her wearing, she was depicted in a moment of joy and elegance of spinning through the air with her legs tucked under her body and her left arm raised in the air. Her features were alight with the brightest smile and her sharp eyes flashed with pure delight. Meanwhile her clothing was now hugging her form, expressing her every curve and the skirt rose just enough to make a passing man pause with interest. Behind her a military band sat in rows gleaming instruments in their hands. Placing Paul's drawing down onto a bed side table Roderich took the poster into his own hands as better to study it. Strangely as he looked down upon it, he was struck by the overall beauty of Natalia's form, the elegance which she had been able to place into her actions and the subtle intricacies which could be found upon her smiling features he felt an attraction and even a pang of lust. _She looks quite different from when I saw her last... _Roderich thought as his eyes slowly moved across her image for a third time, _What a pity she is Slavic, we might have hit it off. _Alas the racial attitudes of the Third Reich would not allow such a thing, not when the Slavic people had been set down for either slavery or total annihilation. Sighing Austria looked up at Paul "Very good Paul, I will need to keep this, though make sure that your image and any other posters are used to instruct the men. Remember this smiling creature which you see here is a merciless killer." he looked down at the poster then to the soldier's eyes, "She shot my driver without so much as a flinch and I'm sure she would have killed me and the General had my men not scared her and her allies away."

Paul nodded, "Of course sir!" he said, going to retrieve his drawing but pausing momentarily to look over the poster again, "I guess it just enforces the fact that Russian barbarism can never be covered, regardless of how civil they pretend to be." Roderich nodded, though his eyes never left the poster, "Quite right Paul, Quite right. Now go, I need to rest." Nodding Paul rolled up his work and started to step out of the door before stopping and turning to salute, "Hail Hitler." he said with a strong clear voice. Looking up from the image Roderich nodded, "Hail." he replied with a nod. Then, once the door was closed again Roderich the the poster in the chair facing the bed and laid himself onto the bed, His eyes studying the woman whom he wished to capture until he finally fell asleep.

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><p>AN: And there we go, it is a bit short but I will do my best to update as soon as I can. As always thank you for reading.


	8. Brest, Belarus- 1941 Part 3

****A/N******: **Hello! Finally I was able to get some time to sit and write out some more of this story. So, continuing on with Natalia's story for now.

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><p><strong><strong>Brest, Belorussian- SSR June 26, 1941, 00:15 <strong>**

__Natalia Arlovskaya felt herself running, breathless and desperate to get away from whatever was filling her heart with fear. Swallowing she glanced back but all she could see was blackness and two bright headlights which seemed to be gaining on her. ___Go! Run faster! ___A voiced echoed around her, ___Go or he'll catch you! He's gaining on you!___ "Stop! Shut up!" she shouted to the voice as she covered her ears in a helpless attempt to shut it out of her mind, but alas the voice continued to shout, loud and clear as before. ___RUN! You're going to fail! He's right behind you! ___"Who!?" Natalia shouted, "Who's behind me!?" Just then someone grabbed her hair and pulled her head back, forcing her to stare up into the black moonless sky above, "I'm behind you." a smooth, silky, familiar voice chuckled. Gasping Natalia's eyes widened as Roderich's face slipped into her field of vision, a disturbing grin on his face, "You really shouldn't have run Belarus." he hissed, "Now I'll have to punish you." and with that he gently placed a revolver to her head and pulled back the hammer. "N-No please." Natalia whispered closing her eyes just as the gun shot rocked her consciousness.__

Natalia jolted awake to the sound to her heart pounding in her chest and the sound of blood rushing though her ears. Blinking she stared up at the ceiling, her breaths coming quick and shallow as the prickles of fear subsided from her body and the calm of semi-familiar surroundings washing over her. Groaning she sat up and took in those surroundings once more, a dark room with stone walls filled with wounded fighters and terrified children she had seen when she was first brought in _Good God it was a dream___..__She thought while she tried to get the gummy feeling out of her mouth. Taking in a large gulp of air Natalia swallowed hard, her throat dry with thirst. Just then an explosion rocked the room causing her to jolt out of her haze, "Gah shit!" she exclaimed as she jumped slightly, her nerves already on edge from the nightmare she'd had. Next to her she heard the sound of a man's wheezing laughter, "The Germans have no manners eh?" the voice asked.

Turning her head Natalia saw Lieutenant Potapov sitting next to her. His face was ashen, covered in grime and dirt from the days back and forth fight for survival. He took a deep breath and swallowed, "What's worse those sons of bitches are drying us out." He swallowed again licked his lips, "We drank our last reserves early last afternoon." he took a deep breath and gestured around the cellar, "If we're lucky ome of the saturation from the soil around us will seem through cracks in the walls...but it's drops." he swallowed again before continuing. "And getting water from the river is a death sentence." He sighed and turned to look at Belarus, "Honestly, I pity you miss. You were better off out there, you'd suffer less..."

Hearing all this Natalia lowered her gaze and looked down at her hands, dirty and covered in calluses – the first new scars from a new Patriotic War. "I don't care." she said mutely, "I...I'd rather fight with you all than be safe on my own. It's my duty to defend my people to the best of my abilities and I'll always do so." She glanced at Potapov who sat with his eyes closed, his breathing labored and slow, but at least it was steady. Swallowing Natalia stood and carefully made her way towards the main stairway which lead up to ground level, she was quite sure that now would be a good time for her to sneak out of here and begin her newest harrowing journey to the Fortress which was situated in the center of the Fortress Complex.

There she hoped to find, and hopefully use the wireless telegraph system to contact Minsk to inform Nikolai that she was alive, maybe that would encourage the Commanders of the Red Army to send the desperately needed reinforcements to Brest and help liberate the city from the Nazi scourge. As she slowly made her way through the armory's long wide cellar she was forced to step around and over wounded soldiers and civilians sitting with their heads down or laying on the ground, their faces dirty, and the life in their eyes dim. Swallowing Natalia steadied her nerves, knowing that her leaving this place could be more helpful than if she stayed; but then the sound of a young girl's cracking voice cause her breath to catch in her throat."Mommy...I need water. I'm__so___ t_hirsty." Turning Natalia stared at the young girl, no older than five years old laying in the arms of her mother who was doing her best to comfort the child "I don't have any water darling, just be patient. We'll get out soon." the mother said, wiping away her own tears as she kissed her child.

Exhaling slowly Belarus turned away from the sight _I can't go yet. I need to help them. _She though before she went to the nearest soldier, "Give me your canteen." she said in a soft whisper, "I'm going for water." Hearing this the other man's eyes widened, "Y-You can't-" he began to exclaim before Natalia covered his mouth and shushed him. "Don't yell," she whispered, glancing at the girl and her mother who both had their eyes closed. "I don't want to bring anyone's hopes up, in case I don't make it. Now please."

The soldier continued to state at Belarus as though she had gone mad, " But the Fascists have set machine gun nests on all the banks. They'll shoot you before you even get a drop."

"Don't worry about that, I'll work it out. Now _give me your canteen._"

The soldier paused, unsure of what he should do he glanced at Potapov who continued to sleep like a log "Don't look at him. Look at me." Natalia snapped grabbing his face and turning it towards her own. Looking him straight in the eyes she leaned close to the other man "Give me your canteen or else you're condemning all these people to death. Do you understand?" Staring into her eyes the other man nodded, "O-Ok. Here." he said holding out the metal container. Taking it Natalia grabbed the rifle laying next to him and moved to the next man and the next, going through much of the same steps she collected as many canteens she could clip to her uniform.

Once she felt confident that she had collected enough she turned towards the stone steps leading to the upper level. But before she even made it half way the image of her nightmare flashed in her mind's eye and froze her in place. The terror of being pursued and the jolt of someone grabbing her hair had been burned into her memory now and it gave her pause; look down at the long silver locks which rested past her shoulders she frowned.__My hair is a liability...__she thought to herself as her fingers played with the ends. She needed to shorten it, for her own safety.

Turning she looked out over the crowd of people, searching their hips to see if any one of them still have his knife, finding one on an older man, bearded, with a face seemingly chiseled from the earth itself. Going over she sat down next to him and smiled sweetly, "Do you think I may have your knife?" she asked causing his head to turn. "Why do you need a knife?" he asked in a voice which matched the roughness of his features and his accent revealed that he hailed from the northern Caucus region. Natalia's grabbed her hair, "I need to cut this to a length which can't be used against me." she explained. "If I were to get into close combat any scum could grab it and then I'm done for. Please, I won't take long."

As the soldier stared at her, his expression unreadable, Natalia wondered if he was going to help her, or if he'd tell her to get lost; but finally with a heavy sigh he pulled the deadly instrument from it's case and held it out to her, "Here," he said, "Don't hurt yourself now." he added with a chuckle. Natalia smiled and took the weapon, "Thank you." she said with a slight nod of her head.

Then Belarus moved off to sit down on the dirt floor and began to cut her hair, slowly making her way through one handful through another, though it was slow and rather painful. "Hey, need help?" Arsen suddenly asked, having come up to her while she wasn't looking. Blinking she stared at the Armenian for a bit before holding the knife out to him, "Be my guest."

Taking the knife Arsen ran the instrument up and down over the length of his boot in quick movements before he began to cut her hair, slow and gentle; carefully using his fingers to separate each section of hair before cutting it so that it didn't pull on her scalp as much as before. "You're...quite good at this." Natalia said after a bit of silence.

"My father was a barber. He taught me a few tricks of the trade."

Natalia frowned slightly, "Was? Did anything happen to him?"

"Oh...well no. That is, he's still alive. He just...lost his business when the Ottomans turned against us Armenians during the last war. Thankfully he was able to escape once the killings started."

Natalia's eyes widened and she felt a chill run down her back, "Oh my-" she had heard about what had occurred during the Great War from Ivan, who had witnessed the horrors and cruelty which the Ottoman government had perpetrated against the Armenian population which had lived within it's borders. Using mass shootings, mass forced drownings, arrests, death marches through the deserts, and even camps created for the sole role of exterminating the ethnic Armenians within the Empire, they had hoped in wiping the concept of Armenia off the map.

"It's alright." Arsen said softly, "Most of my family was able to escape, or so I've been told." he paused then sighed, "Though to be honest I have not been told much about that time. I was born in Syria and my father doesn't talk of those times." he sighed again and continued to cut, "What I do know is that he used to be a barber in hisyu. town and did very well. Now he lives in Yerevan, safe in his homeland and...honestly I have to be thankful for that." Listening Natalia thought she'd heard his voice crack a bit and wondered if maybe he was trying to suppress a more painful memory, though to ask would be out of place, and so she just sat in silence while he cut. "What about you?" Arsen suddenly asked, breaking the silence.

"What about me?"

"Well...surely you have a family. That is, if it's not out of place for me to ask."

"Oh, no no it's fine." Natalia smiled just a bit, "Um...well I have a rather large family to be honest and we're all spread about between Minsk, Moscow, and Kiev. I have three brothers, two older and one younger and two older sisters."

"Oh my...your parents must have loved each other very much." Arsen chuckled, his mood seemingly lighter I'm actually my father's only child... unfortunately."

"Uh...yes, yes they must have." Natalia agreed, doing her best not to seem amused.

"Do you miss them?" the Armenian asked as the knife sliced through more strands of hair,

Hearing this question Natalia paused, having found herself at a loss for words. In truth she didn't really remember anyone which she could call her parents, though she had to assume that she'd been told that her mother was the Personification of Kievian Rus. Thus unlike Greece, the Italian Siblings, and the Germanics, all of whom clearly knew about other older Personifications which they could call their 'mother' or 'father' Natalia could not. All she knew for sure is that she'd lived with Ivan and Yekaterina until she was introduced to Anya, Konstantin, and Nikolai. Since then this strange group had turned into the closest thing she could call a family. Eventually she sighed, "I don't remember them very well. They both died when I was very young. I was raised by my siblings"

Now it was Arsen who apologized, insisting he been out of place to bring up such a touchy subject, though Natalia was quick to calm him. "It's fine, really. You couldn't have known anyway."

"Well...alright...by the way, it's done." he said pulling the knife away from her hair. "And we're done."

"Thank you." Natalia said as she ran a hand through her much shorter hair, "I wish I had a mirror so I'd see what you did to me." she chuckled slightly as her hands continued to touch her hair. "Oh..well, I did my best to give you a _Revolution Style_ cut." Arsen said with a sheepish smile, referring to the bob cuts which became very fashionable with women in the 20s and 30s right after the October Revolution; and most famously still worn by Molotov's wife.

Natalia frowned slightly, "Oh, I've never liked those." she admitted, "but I guess it's better than looking like a man." Hearing this Arsen shrugged, still smiling "Honestly, I think you look very beautiful." he said.

Giving him a side glance Natalia raised a brow, "Really?" she as she stood. Standing as well Arsen shrugged again, "Short hair suits you, it allows your eyes to take center stage and really brightens your features. By the way, where were you going before you started the hair cut?"

Natalia shouldered her rifle and leaned close to his ear, "I'm going to get water from the river." she whispered, "Though I recommend you stay, I'm guessing you'd rather come along."

"Am I really so predictable?" the Armenian asked cracking a smile.

"Yes. Yes you are. Now come on."

****-xxxx-****

Dashing out into the smoke which continued to rise from the various craters cut out in the ground of the Fortress Complex, Natalia and Arsen made their way towards red brick wall which ran it's way around Brest Fortress, behind which ran the Bug. Keeping low and behind debris as much as possible the two of them did their best to keep the canteens in their possession from making too much noise. At the same time they had to also make sure that the large beam of the searchlight which cut through the dark as it moved back and forth from one side to the other didn't discover them. "We've fucked ourselves." Arsen whispered when the two of them were forced to dive into large hole to escape the light, "There's no way we'll get to the water without being seen."

Panting to catch her breath Natalia moved to the lip of the crater and peeked out to take in the sight on the near the water which seemed to be crawling with Germans. "The problem is, those mother fuckers are trying to take the castle and that means they've filled the bank with men and weapons." she growled, "Honestly all it would take is a nice little bombardment to kill those bastards and we'd have all the water we could want."

"Ah yes." Arsen nodded, "Let me just get our Air Marshal on the line." he said sarcastically.

Shooting him a glare Natalia sighed, in truth she'd had only seen a few Soviet plane in the sky since the invasion on the 22nd and even then most of the Soviet planes were being destroyed by the German air force. In fact she could think of no better show of control over the air than the sight of four German fighters chasing after a lone red Soviet plane before it was blown up from the strikes of their guns. "It seems, we'll need to be as stealthy as possible with this." Natalia said as her hand reached down for the knife which cut her hair. "Wait for me here and if anyone bothers you, shoot them between the eyes."

"Ah...execution style. Good call."

Nodding Natalia waited for the beam of the searchlight to pass over her position before leaping out and making a mad dash to another crater. Rolling into it Natalia clutched the knife to her chest and waited, listening carefully. Now she could clearly hear the German being spoken by the enemy troops. __Ok Natasha, you're close. Just a few more sprints and we can have water___. _Peeking over the edge Belarus carefully observed the area of the river in front of her, deciding that the best area to go looking for water was near the walled perimeter of the complex, farther away from the castle where most of Germans would be watching. Using her teeth to hold the knife Natalia crawled out over the lip of the crater on her stomach and quickly made her way towards the water's edge, stopping every so often to looked over the area in front of her. Soon though she could hear the sound of the water's lazy flow and she felt relief wash over her. With only a couple more meters of distance between her and the sweet relief to her thirst, Natalia raised herself crouch and closed the distance as fast as she could. Unfortunately just as she was sure she'd be free from danger she saw the lazy arch of the beam closing in on her.

Cursing Belarus hit the dirt and covered her head with her hands, praying that she wouldn't be seen. As she muttered the words of the prayer the light moved just a meter or so away from her head and continued on,, leaving Natalia free to quickly rush towards the water and dunk the six canteens into the river two at a time to fill them before running back to the foxhole she'd left Arsen in. "Well it seems you almost threw yourself into another mess." Arsen whispered harshly when Belarus jumped into the foxhole. "Oh stop complaining." Natalia snapped unclasping the canteens and setting them into the dirt. "Give me the one's you have." she ordered. When he did she went out and repeated the horrible process.

"Alright I got the water so lets get going back to the Armory." she ordered when she was done. Nodding the Armenian crawled out of the hole and together the two of them ran from one foxhole to the next until they were able to climb through the blasted out windows of the Armory building.

What followed after the two of them entered the basement with four full canteens of water was a burst of the most purest joy Natalia had seen among any group of people. Men who had done their best to show themselves as rocks on which others could support themselves on broke down into tears of joy and relief while mothers rush Arsen and herself with hugs and kisses and an outpouring to gratitude the likes of which she hadn't seen since the last Great War shredded her land.

"Are we going back for more?" Arsen asked as he downed his rationed amount of water.

"Oh yes." Natalia nodded, swallowing the brown hazy water without a second thought, "The more we get the more we'll save." As usual Arsen insisted that he come along and Natalia didn't wish to waste time arguing.

**-xxxx-**

Glancing out once more to check for safe passage Natalia and Arsen dashed out once again into the open area of the Fortress Complex and to the foxhole they had stopped in before. The vast complex which had contained officers, troops, and their family was always planned to be a secure location for stationing the personnel and also being an important area for defending against an attack. Unfortunately, as with most of the earlier plans for war this place had turned into a cauldron in which men, women, and children were left cut off from the rest of the city as well as the country. Yet, so far it had been able to withstand the main brunt of the attack upon it and despite the bombings, shelling, and waves upon waves of troops the Brest Fortress stood. Yet while the Soviet forces were able to withstand attack from conventional armies and weapons, there was the one thing no one could fend off for long, regardless of their skill or strength - thirst.

"I can only imagine how horribly everyone else much be suffering." Arsen whispered as he looked down at the drained canteen in his hands, "I'd rather not think about that right now." Natalia responded, "Let's just concentrate on helping those we can. Come on." Moving from the foxhole they ran then crawled towards the river which ran through the Fortress Complex and effectively cut it in half, with only bridges to connect both sides. Thus, the river had been an effective natural barrier during the attack on the red stoned structure and kept the Germans and the Soviet's on distinct sides, At the same time though, the river had also become a horrible obstacle for those who had found themselves inside the Fortress Castle itself, which was situated on an island in the center of the stoned off complex. Sighing Natalia began to crawl about of the foxhole only to be grabbed by Arsen who pulled her back, "Wait!" he hissed as the column of light from the Nazi lookout made it's lazy curve back towards the two of them.

Pressing themselves down onto the wet earth Natalia and Arsen waited as the horrible light, which represented their death, move along to another part of the darkness. Exhaling slowly Natalia turned her head to Arsen, "Thank you." she whispered, "I don't know how I forgot to look for it."

"Eh, don't mention it." he said with a slight smile, "Now lets get this over with."

Nodding Belarus and her Armenian companion moved forward in a running crouch towards the river and the life giving water which is held. Reaching the cool shores of the river they quickly dunked the canteens into the water, once full they began to make their way towards the armory building. Yet, when they slipped into safety the sound of gunfire and the loud shout of "Attack!" came from the Fortress. Skidding to a stop Natalia snapped her gaze to the castle which was now lit unto with the muzzle flashes of machine guns and tracers which zipped through the air towards their targets. Meanwhile the silhouettes of the men both Soviet and Fascist engaging in battle could be seen within the flashes of light. "Good God their trying to break out." Natalia exclaimed. "Snapping her gaze to Arsen she began to fumble with the canteens which where clipped to her uniform. "W-What are you doing?" Arsen asked, his gaze flicking between the battle off in the distance and the woman who stood before him. "I need to go back there! If the Germans break through my contact between the outside world might be lost."

"Are you crazy!" Arsen exclaimed, grabbing Natalia arm, attempting to pull her towards the safety of the building. "There is no way you'll survive there! Just look at that firepower!"

"Arsen I can make it. Let me go, take the water back to the armory an let me handle things myself!"

She held out the canteens to Arsen who stood and furiously shook his head, "No! No! No! You're talking madness! If they hold out you can try to get there later!"

Biting her lip Natalia turned her gaze towards the fortress where the battle, which had begun so suddenly was already dying down with a retreat by the Soviets who had attempted to break out of their encirclement. Swallowing hard Natalia nodded, "Fine." she said and together she and Arsen returned to the basement of the building where they were one again rushed by those who wished to drink.

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><p><strong>AN:** And there we are, with one more chapter to go about Brest Fortress the rest of this story will start to take on a more expansive territory. (Hopefully) and I do hope that I am able to catch and hold everyone's interest. As always, thank you for reading and reviews are more than welcome.


	9. Brest, Belarus 1941 Part 4

**June 26, 1941, Brest Fortress- 09:00 hrs. **

"_Soldiers of the Red Army, suppressed masses of the Soviet Union! Drop your weapons and give up the futile resistance! Stop fighting for the criminal government of the Judeo-Bolshevik Oppressors! The German Reich, under the leadership of it's Furher Adolph Hitler is here to liberate you from their yoke! We come as friends and those who choose to surrender now will be treated to a meal, a shower, and the utmost respect! Anyone left after this opportunity will be destroyed!"_

Natalia gritted her teeth as the sound of the voice, speaking heavily accented Russian, continued to filter through the blasted windows of the armory where she and Arsen had ended after escaping from Roderich. Trapped in the basement of the Fortress Armory, she found herself feeling more and more helpless as the hours went by and a new bombardment had begun to rain down upon the Brest Fortress, though she had become used to that since the war started. Then, when the guns fell silent she had expected to helplessly watch as the attacking troops attempted to storm the castle which stood as a symbol of the resistance, yet to her surprise an attack did not come, instead the voice of a German propagandist began to rain down an even more offensive bombardment-urging the men to abandon their posts and surrender.

"_Soldiers you have only three minutes left before your destruction! Surrender now and save yourself. Officers, will you willfully condemn your families to death? The Soviet Union is not worth dying for! We do not come to kill you as enemies but as friends! We came after the illegal Judeo-Bolshevik leadership which has abused your rights and purged your fellow countrymen! Surrender soldiers! Those who stay will have no one to blame but themselves! Choose wisely! Liberation or Death?_"

"Good God, when will that rat shut his face?" Natalia growled, tightening her grip upon the Mosin-Negant bolt action rifle in her hands, "He has been repeating the same thing for fifteen minutes."

Around her some of the men nodded, a few muttered their agreement, but in general they sat in silence waiting quietly for the promised bombardment which was to come in only a few moments. Just then the German's voice was replaced by a scratchy recording of _Katyusha_, a folk styled song written in 1938, which told the story of a young maiden waiting for her love who was on the border defending his county.

Blinking with surprise Natalia turned her gaze towards the cellar's ceiling and tilted her head slightly so that she could listen more carefully, "Are they...?" she whispered, not believing that the Germans would be playing such a famous Russian song. "I think it is." whispered a soldier, who's name was Grigori Petrov, "I wonder if they expect us to run to it."

Arsen chuckled, "Perhaps their mothers read them the _Pied Piper_ one too many times." this brought out a few laughs though the tense mood within the room didn't disperse. Allowing herself to smile Belarus was about to answer when the look out let out a shout, "Would you look at those traitorous scums!"

Blinking Natalia turned her head as Lieutenant Potapov went over to the look out, "What are you screaming about?" he hissed angrily; though one quick look into the Complex yard silenced him, "Oh..." was all he could say. Now curiosity filled everyone present and they all quickly rushed the windows, pushing and trying to catch a glimpse of the scene outside, "Son of a bitch, they're surrendering. Look at them, fucking bastards." Pushing her way through Natalia was finally able to see clearly and once they did her stomach dropped slightly at the sight of the crowd of troops which was filtering its way out of their hiding places and to the enemy positions, their arms raised high over their heads.

"You know, if I didn't need the bullets I'd shoot them right here and now." Petrov growled, "Traitorous Fascists."

Watching the men Natalia shook her head with a sigh, "No...not really. They're just scared for their lives. Simple as that."

Hearing her the crowd of troops turned their gaze to Natalia, frowns all around, "You're defending them?" one of them asked, "Really?"

Natalia shook her head, "I'm not defending or condemning. I'm simply stating a fact. Harsh but true."

Though she was unhappy to see those who were supposed to defend and fight for their nation abandoning the fight through surrender she could also understand the fear of death and the hope for survival. This was something she'd seen over and over again throughout her long and varied existence as a nation, when during war after war her own people or the enemy nation's people would throw down their weapons and surrender to the other side. In the early years she'd felt anger and hatred for those which she felt were abandoning her, but soon as she grew more mature, the feeling changed to disappointment. Though not because of any feeling for herself but because she felt that surrendering while your fellow comrades in arms stayed to fight on was the same as betraying a brother and betraying one's family was a horrible offense.

Just then a hush fell over the troops as a new sight came into view, this time of civilians, women, children, and even some wounded men who could not fight started to filter out. Sighing Belarus watched them go, arms raised, white handkerchiefs in their hands. "_Maybe now they'll get some relief from this hell _she thought.

Just then Lieutenant Potapov's voice cut through the uncomfortable tension which has descended over the group, "Well, regardless of what we think, we better get prepared for a serious attack." Potapov said, stepping away from the window as the last group of civilians walked out of the main gates and to the world outside. As if to punctuate his words an explosion erupted in the ground not far from the central island. This was quickly followed by another bomber and another explosion. Soon, the entire complex was being rocked by explosives which rained down upon the earth and buildings from the seemingly ceaseless wave of planes, as though they were hail from a storm, the only difference being that they were made of fire rather than ice.

-xxxx-

Roderich looked out at the the red bricked cluster out in the distance, watching the bombardment of the Fortress which he no longer wished to wait for the surrender of. _That damned thing can't hold out much longer." _He thought with a grim frown on his face, _Not when there isn't a foundation to stand on. _Watching for a few a minute longer Roderich lowered the binoculars and turned away from the scene, with the new group of surrendered soldiers in German hands. Roderich now had a chance to find out if Natalia had been able to escape to the Fortress or not, hopefully she was or else he would have allowed the biggest catch of his life to slip through his fingers. Walking slowly Roderich looked over the sad, dirty, and exhausted faces of the Soviet troops which were just now entering the German positions. "Hey, I need a translator!" he shouted to a few of the guards stationed to watch the Soviets, "Nothing too fancy, just enough to get these swine to understand me."

Nodding one of the guards turned and began to call for a man named Alexander, obviously the name of a translator, to come to him. Meanwhile Roderich pulled a drawing of Natalia which he had requested be made by one of the men in his regiment last night. Looking down at it now he wondered if any of these men would recognize her based on the imagination of the artist, "Oh well, it'll have to do." he muttered just as a scrawny man who looked as though he'd be more at home in a university rather than a battlefield approached Roderich and saluted, "Hail Hitler." he said.

Roderich nodded, "Hail." he replied raising his arm, "Are you Alexander?"

When the man nodded Roderich smiled, "Good. I need you to translate something important for me." he said, "Ask these men if anyone of them has seen this woman." he held up the sketch to the translator, "Anyone who identifies her will get an extra ration of food and water."

Nodding Alexander took the paper and approached the line of Soviet prisoners and began to call out to them in Russian while Roderich watched, his hands held tightly behind his back. When Alexander finished and held out the drawing for the group to see, which erupted into excited shouts and pointing, each man desperately trying to prove that he'd seen her and knew where she was now. Watching this Roderich frowned, "Silence!" he shouted, "Tell them to speak one at a time or no one will eat!" When Alexander translated the crowd instantly grew quiet, "Very good. Now, who has seen this woman recently?" A group of hands shot up into the air. Nodding Roderich pointed to a soldier who told him he'd seen her running through the complex early that morning with another soldier, but he didn't know what had become of her since then. Hearing this Roderich nodded, "Alright, give him his rations and an extra hunk of bread." As the desperate man was led away Roderich pointed to another hand, "You, when did you see her?" he asked, stepping forward the man shouted out in Russian, "He says he may have seen her running through the complex late last night" Hearing this Roderich frowned and he stepped closer to the Russian who had spoken, "Ask him where she was running. Did she leave the walls?"

As the translator and the man had their conversation Roderich's sharp quick eyes flicked from one to the other, wondering if maybe the man was lying to get more bread, "He says he is not sure as he didn't watch her long enough. I had asked him to describe her to make sure and he says that her hair was shorter than the drawing indicates."

Roderich frowned, "Shorter? How short?"

"It's was up to her jaw." the translator explained after a quick back and forth., causing Roderich's frown to deepen. "That might not have been her at all." he said, looking down at the drawing, "Do you suppose he is lying sir? It would not surprise me." Hearing this Roderich nodded slowly, "It is quite likely...just give him extra bread regardless. Thank you."

"Of course! Hail Hitler." Alexander saluted.

Returning the salute Roderich turned and walked away, his eyes trained down on the drawing in his hands as he walked away from the dirty exhausted prisoners. _It's possible she cut her hair...though I do not see how she could manage. _Frowning more Roderich began to quickly make his way deeper into the German command center which had been set up not far from Brest Fortress. _Either way,_ w_e need to storm the complex now. _He thought with a frown, _Before she has a chance to run off again._

Yet, there were still two more waves of bombers making their way towards the fortress which made the storming impossible, or else there would be many many German deaths on his hands. Frustrated Roderich took a deep breath, "It's alright." he muttered, "She isn't going to run anywhere while death rains down from above." He smiled slightly and nodded "and soon I'll have her and the forsaken fortress." Just then, as the last plane flew off, the first artillery gun went off not too far away.

-xxxx-

The first bomb from the second bombardment fell with a sudden _fwoomp!_ Which shook the foundation of the building she found herself in and the shock wave rocked her to the core. It was almost instantly followed by another powerful bunker buster which erupted near by and then another and another. "Mother fuckers!" shouted one of the soldiers near her, he was sitting hunched over his hands covering his ears much like everyone else. "First planes and then an artillery bombardment," he suddenly began to laugh, "The Fritzes are desperate to get us aren't they?" As the laughter spilled out from the sole soldier it quickly began to spread to the other men and women in the basement until finally the room was filled with uproarious laughter, from Natalia included. "Cowards and bastards."Arsen suddenly said, shouting to be heard over the noise of the bombardment, "Where I come from you'd have to fight it out hand to hand like a man." he proclaimed.

"Maybe if we hide long enough the bastards will give up." someone suggested which sent more laughter through the basement; though honestly they all understood that this was going to be a fight to the death.

Twenty minutes or so later the guns suddenly stopped dropping their deadly payload and the Fortress fell silent once more. Blinking the occupants of the basement lowered their hands and looked up at the basement's ceiling. "Is it over?" someone asked. "Shit if I know." his friend replied, "Only way to find out is to go and look."

Climbing to the upper level the troops, Natalia included, crowded around the windows, weapons ready, just in case. What they didn't see was any enemy troops, though that they _did _see was a scene which seemed to have been taken out of the pages of science fiction book about a foreign planet; the landscape was absolutely full of craters, smoke, and fire. "My God..." whispered one of the soldiers, his eyes widening with horror, "Just look at what the Fritz has done."

"Horrifying..." agreed another. "Make one wonder how we'll survive this doesn't it?"

Just then the harsh gruff voice of Lieutenant Potapov, "There is no need for fruitless speculation. We'll fight to the end, our Homeland depends on it. Now keep your eyes peeled, the enemy is sure to enter soon enough"

Nodding the troops quieted down and watched the gates near their area, looking for the tell tale sign of enemy troops when there came movement from the thick layer of smoke and a cry of "Germans!" off in the distance, which a moment later was followed by the sound of an uproarious cheer from Soviet positions and the sound of fighting. "Ah! There we go!" shouted Potapov, pulling out his pistol, "With me! To battle!" he shouted and leaped out of the building's window, his officer's pistol pointed straight ahead; followed closely by the men under his command which pushed forward weapons in hand, cheering at the top of their lungs, "_Urrrraaa!_"

For her part Natalia let out a loud harsh scream which would have frozen the blood in the veins of anyone who heard it as she charge, rifle in hand, next to her Arsen was doing the same while also shouting out words in his native language as he ran into the smoke and fire of battle. As the group came closer they began to see that the soil closer to the central castle, where the bombing had been more intense had been turned to glass from the heat and now as they ran they could hear it crunch under their feet. Another sound which also became clearer as they ran was the sound of their comrades engaging the enemy up ahead, the sound of guns, blades and brutal hand to hand combat coming through the fog of warfare before the picture of death cleared through. A moment later the two armies, if they could be called that, collided in a clash of iron, flesh, and blood.

Unfortunately for the defenders of the fortress had a limited amount of weapons, forcing them to fight with rifles, pistols, or bayonets, along with a very limited amount of machine guns. This, as expected, meant that those without guns or knives had to improvise, using hammers, shovels, and even broken furniture as clubs or else taking whatever had been dropped by their dead comrades to beat the enemy. Meanwhile the attacking army was armed to the teeth, and prepared fully for an attack.

Together the two groups screamed, fired, cut, and beat each other to a pulp and all around Soviet and Wehrmacht soldiers to fall wounded or dead. As for Belarus, seeing the outline of an enemy helmet she raised her rifle and fired, aiming for the man's head. Hearing a loud _ping _along with seeing the helmet being blown off of the man's head satisfied to the fact that he was down; the action was repeated once again with a new enemy, and then another. Soon Natalia was passionately engaged with the Austrian and German troops with a fervor and desire for revenge which made all things around her blurred into one simple objective: kill as many fascist troops as possible. All around her the other Soviets were doing the same, though for them the stakes were much higher- either kill or be killed.

Suddenly a German charged forward, a knife in his hands, raising her rifles Natalia pressed down on the trigger and heard the recall of an empty chamber. Freezing with surprise for an instant Belarus failed to react in time and the German crashed into her, the knife digging itself deep into her chest Letting out a scream of pain and surprise Natalia quickly turned her rifle and sent the bayonet into the other man's stomach, causing his body to jolt backwards as blood seeped out of his mouth and washed over the blade and the gun. Pushing him back with her booted foot Natalia pulled the blade out of him and turned to face a second attacker who was coming at her from behind all while blood seeped from her wound and covered her shirt. As the second attacker fell, Natalia noticed a pistol laying at her feet,.threw down the rifle, and quickly grabbed it just as two grey clad soldiers attacked her. Yelping with surprise Belarus fired wildly, hitting one man twice in the chest while the other man shot her in the shoulder before he was taken out by a shovel to the neck; which caused blood to arch out of the wound and spray Natalia.

It was then that the order to retreat was shouted out to the remaining Soviet troops.

Hearing this Belarus snapped out of her haze and made her escape towards the bridge leading to the Holmsky Gates of the central castle, only to notice Arsen, who was using his rifle to beat a corpse. Swallowing Belarus grabbed the young Armenian, who had seemingly gone mad by the violence of battle, and pulled him away to the just as the Soviet machine gunners in the Holmsky Gates had finally unjammed their weapon to light up the deadly instrument.

-xxxx-

Austria cursed the Soviets, he cursed Natalia, and he cursed the men responsible for his position, "Bloody bastards! Shits! Good for nothing barbarians! Animals! Subhumans! Can't they fucking lay down their guns and die like civilized men?!" He kicked the table and chairs of the military HQ where his glorious invasion was falling apart because of one stubborn Fortress. The fact that not even the surrender of scores of troops, a bombardment of immense proportion and unimaginable fire power had done nothing to break the will of the defenders enraged him even more than he could imagine. _This is not how it was supposed to work! Hitler promised an easy glorious victory! Not this bloody quagmire! Good God! _Out of breath and energy Roderich sat on one of the chairs confiscated from a near by hotel and lit a cigarette, "Something needs to be done." he muttered, "Or else I'm finished. Ludwig will..." he shook his head and shakily took another drag, "Something needs to be done..." He sighed and lolled his head back against the wall, eyes closing. Just then the door to the room opened and Fritz Schlieper entered, looking tired and haggard he saw the cigarette in Roderich's mouth and extended his hand, "May I?"

Roderich's eyes opened with a flutter and he looked over the commanders disheveled appearance, "What happened to you?" he asked holding out the cigarette. Taking the smoking tube Schlieper inhaled deeply before answering, "Hitler called."

Hearing this Roderich let out a snort, "No kidding?"

Scowling Schlieper took a drag, "He wanted to know if the Fortress will be ready for an official visit." he swallowed and took another drag. "Can you believe that?" he shook his head with disbelief, "You can imagine how he reacted when I told him it wasn't yet taken."

Roderich's brows shot up with surprise, "He wants to visit this hole?"

Schlieper nodded, "He wanted to show off in front of Mussolini, the idiot."

Taking a deep breath Roderich stood up and grabbed the cigarette from between Schlieper's lips, "So now what?" he asked biting down on the cardboard tube, "Are we going to be taken to Berlin and shot?"

"No." Schlieper snapped, "I've called for one final bomb-"

"One bomb?" Roderich asked, an amused smirk on his lips, "How will that-"

"A two tonne bomb." Schlieper finished. "It will blow this place to the ends of the earth and then we'll just have to clean the entrails off of the walls in time of Hitler's visit."

Blinking Roderich removed the cigarette from his mouth with a shaking hand and exhaled before whispering to himself, "My God...two _tonnes_..." he shook his head in disappointment, _Even Natalia can't survive that."_

"It will be here at 14:00 hrs.."

Nodding Roderich looked down at his watched, which read 11:00. "Right."

-xxxx-

Brest Belorussian SSR- June 26, 1941 14:00 hrs

Natalia fell back against a wall and took a deep breath before wincing. The wounds which she had sustained during battle had not all yet healed fully and each breath sent a shot of pain through her body. "Miss Arlovskaya, you're hurt." Arsen said, the young man was sitting near her, his eyes roaming over her bloodied uniform. Natalia shook her head, "N-No, it's from the enemy, the blood is from the enemy." she said with a nod.

"Yes but-"

"Look after your own wounds." Natalia suddenly snapped, gesturing to his bloodied arm, "That's much more important that what's happening to me."

It had been two hours since the short skirmish between the Soviet Forces and those of the German army which had attempted to once again take the Brest Fortress. Since then she'd met with one of the main commanders of the Fortress resistance, Lieutenant Kizhevatov. Having been stuck here during the start of the war with his whole family, he had suffered immensely during the Siege but neither he nor his family had been willing to surrender. Until finally feeling that there was no other choice for them, Kizhevatov had forced them to leave when the Germans had given the chance. Now, as she sat her gaze turned to the Lieutenant sitting in the corner of the room she could see that he was near emotional collapse, refusing to engage with anyone. Swallowing she stood and silently went over to him, "Comrade Lieutenant?" she said softly, causing the man to jolt and look up at her with red and tired eyes. Embarrassed to be caught in this position he quickly wiped his eyes and hardened his expression, "Yes Comrade Arlovskaya?" he asked, remembered her from the song and dance show which had come to the fortress on the 21st. "Are you alright sir?" she asked, sitting down next to him, "I can understand the hardship you must be going through but a sane mind is important for all of us right now."

Hearing this the Lieutenant took a deep breath and nodded, "Yes, of course...it is just..." looking away as he trailed off he seemed to be fighting off another wave of emotion. "I'm worried I have made a terrible mistake today." he whispered, "I sent them to the enemy. I insisted it was safer."

Frowning slightly with confusion Natalia looked over the man's face,"Who?" she asked simply.

"My family...My children."

Just then Natalia remembered the man's family, which had been sitting in the front row of the theater when she was performing. "They were here weren't they?"

The man nodded, "I only pray... hope that the Germans will have mercy on the children. Surely they will not harm them."

"Of course not. It would be inhumane." Natalia agreed, after all how could men with families kill children?

"Sir, if they had stayed here they would surely die. Out there they have a chance."

"That is what I've been telling myself since I made them leave, but still I-" he broke off and looked away.

Swallowing Natalia gently placed her hand on his shoulder, "Don't do this to yourself...you did what anyone would do in this situation, believe me."

Hearing this Kizhevatov turned his gaze to her then nodded, "You're right of course. Forgive me." then after a moment he added, "Thank you."

Nodding Natalia gave him a small smile, hoping it would reassure him, though he did not return it to her.

Sighing Natalia leaned back where she sat and closed her eyes, It was almost impossible to believe, and Natalia wouldn't have if she wasn't living through it at this very moment, but the Soviet defenders of the castle had been fighting off four to five major waves of attack a day, most helped by their few machine gun nests which made the area vastly more dangerous for the Germans but of course with supplies exhausted, water practically non-existent, and casualties mounting it couldn't be much longer until the will was broken. At least she had thought so, until she'd seen a group of soldiers carving an inscription into the fortress wall: _I AM DYING BUT I WILL NOT SURRENDER._

_If our armies fight this hard everywhere then the invasion should be driven back sooner rather than later. _Natalia thought as she closed her eyes, _If only the end of this war would come quickly._

Just then the sound of a sole plane flying over head roused her interests, as well as the interest of others, "One plane." someone said, "Is it ours?" another asked.

Frowning Natalia forced herself to stand, to go to the windows and other open holes in the walls to look, yet just as she arrived she saw something fall out of the plane, something huge, fat, and descending very fast. A moment later, whatever it was, buried itself into the ground...

The explosion, when it occurred was wholly unexpected. The ground near the buildings was lifted into a large plume rising twenty to thirty meters into the air, followed almost instantaneously by a shock wave which rippled out from the epicenter. Natalia's eyes widened as she watched the wave of soil moving towards her, like the surface of a lake after a rock has been tossed into it. As the wave moved it pushed, lifted, and threw whatever lay in it's path, until it came to hit the building. Screaming Belarus ducked away from the window and covered her head just in time for the energy to smash into the walls, windows, and soldiers, sending everything flying. To her horror, while she could not see the damage, Belarus could clearly hear the men scream while their bodies were flung across the room and into the walls on the other side. A moment later the building's outer wall began to collapse burying Natalia and leaving her in darkness

The next thing she knew she was being exposed to the light of the sun, which shone hard and strong down upon her, exposing her bloodied and injured body to it's rays. Around her there were voices speaking German. "W-What?" she muttered, forcing her eyes open, shaking her head to clear it of haze and confusion. It was suddenly after that which she heard another voice, this one smoother, with an upper crust pronunciation. In fact it reminded her of the German language instructors which would often come to teach the children of the Noble Class back when the Russian Empire still existed. "How is she? Is she alive?" she heard the voice say, her knowledge of the German language coming quite handy in this moment. "She is sir!" came a reply, also in German, from one of the men holding her.

Blinking the blood from her eyes Natalia's eyes adjusted to the light and she could see that she was being help up by two German soldiers, _What the-?" _she thought before raising her head to see how she had come into their hands.

What she saw chilled her blood- the fortress was crawling with foreign troops, marching about in their grey or black uniforms calling out every once in a while in German: "Jews and Commissars against the wall!" Pale and horrified Natalia watched as the men she had suffered and fought with were herded out from the rubble of collapsed buildings or from the ground where they lay, cut, twisted, and completely disoriented. Unfortunately the soldiers gave her little time to look over the situation before she was herself herded with the line of Soviet troops who stood while an officer walked along the line with shorter man who was translating, "Give up the Commissars, Jews, and Communists! Those who do will get as much water as they please!"

Hearing this Natalia's eyes quickly scanned the faces of the men who had been herded together until one man stepped out and pointed at another who was standing not too far from him. "Him. He's a man you want." he said, just as a hiss rose from the other soldiers. "Son of a bitch!" someone shouted, "You should be shot for that!" Hearing the anger the Germans quickly lead the man away as the German officer stepped up to the soldier who had been revealed. _"_Are you a Commissar?" he asked in German with a smirk that made it clear he didn't really care about the answer, it was all just a bit of fun for him.

The soldier lifted his head and blinked, the sun's rays stabbing into his sensitive eyes as he had been living in darkness for the past four days. Suddenly a pang of recognition hit Natalia, the man was Yefim Moiseevich Fomin, a political officer who had been stationed at Brest Fortress and had been the one who had invited Natalia to visit the city in the first place. Now he stood, an expression of disappointment clear on his face as he watched the man who had betrayed him dunk his head into the barrel of water the Germans brought along with them, his slurps and splashing clearly heard. Sighing he turned his gaze back to the German and straightened his plain green uniform before standing taller to face his enemy, "My name is Fomin, Yefim Moiseevich. Proud citizen of the Soviet Union, a Commissar, _and a Jew_."

"He says he is a Jew sir." said the translator after which the German officer was quick to order Fomin's execution. Closer her eyes Natalia turned away from the wall which Fomin had been pressed against but the sound of the firing squad felt like a clap of thunder on this clear summer day. Flinching slightly Natalia lowered her head and even as she was forced to move by the soldiers out of the Fortress she just watched the ground which had soaked up the blood of her people for hundreds of years as she was pushed ahead out of the Fortress at gun point.

* * *

><p><strong>AN: **Although the Defense of Brest Fortress is not as well known to many as say the Battle of Stalingrad, it is in fact one of the most important in the Eastern Front. From the first hour of Operation Barbarossa the the Fortress of Brest was to be an important propaganda victory for the Nazis and thus it was imperative that the German/Austrian forces take it. For the soldiers and officers of the Red Army, the Fortress represented their honor and in many ways their nation, thus there was no other option but to defend it to the last. I have tried to capture some of the feelings and realities of the situation as best I could.

**Historical Note: **Officially the battle "ended" on the 26th of June when the main Fortress was taken and the officers captured. Yet, fighting did not truly end within the Fortress Complex for at least another month. With the most famous defender Major Pyotr Gavrilov fighting on until the 23rd of July when he finally was captured. In the end the Defense of Brest Fortress accounted for 5% of losses for the German Forces during Operation Barbarossa.

As for the Officers which Natalia meets they are all historical figures, Commissar Yefim Fomin was posthumously awarded the Order of Lenin in 1954.

Lieutenant Kizhevatov died on the 29th of June, 1941. In 1965 he was posthumously declared Hero of the Soviet Union. In 1942, his entire family which included his mother, wife, and three children, the youngest being two years of age, were executed by the Germans.


	10. Moscow, June 1941

Moscow, Russian SSR - 01:00

Anya Braginskaya sat with her brother Ivan within Stalin's office along with Vyacheslav Molotov, the Commissar of Foreign Affairs, and Laverenti Beria the Head of the People's Committee of Internal Affairs or NKVD. The four of them had been discussing war planning with their boss late into the night when a messenger knocked on the door to deliver an "urgent message from Minsk". Accepting the envelope from the young man, Stalin opened it and began to read it- to himself. Now, while the Georgian looked over the report which had been brought to his attention, Anya could not help feeling the tension which filling the room;as well as wonder what could have been so important that the Kremlin officers had allowed an interruption of this meeting to send it through. Swallowing Anya's eyes flicked quickly at the faces of those present, trying to assess who knew more about what was happening here and who was left in the dark like her. As usual Molotov's expression was unreadable, nothing more than a perfect mask of calm and neutrality; a skill which he was most famous for and one which did him well during negotiations of power and influence. Beria on the other hand could not seem to sit still, fidgeting and blinking as he waited for his compatriot to start speaking, much like a hungry crow waiting for the perfect moment to pounce upon a morsel of food which was just out of reach; or so Anya thought.

Finally her gaze fell upon her brother Ivan. As expected his expression was set with a mask of total confidence, strength, and a willingness to fight for his life and freedom; and yet behind the mask Anya could see the cracks he tried so hard to hide. The start of this war, combined with the hardships of the ones which had come before in the past 27 years was starting to wear him thin. Not only that, Ivan had been on the "wrong" side of the Revolution and the Civil War which followed; thus causing him to not only lose two wars but also his Tsar, his Empire, and his Imperial way of life. In the end, it was only for the simple fact that Ivan was an immortal who was needed for the Russian Socialist Republic that he was allowed to live by Lenin, Trotsky, and their inner circle. Swallowing Anya turned herself away from her brother, away from the memories which had begun to return to her mind. _There was no other way._ She assured herself,_ I was on the right side of history, he was not. That is all there is to it._ Yet somehow deep inside her mind she felt a twinge of guilt and even fear. Fear that she would never be forgiven for supporting the Revolution and siding with the Red Bolsheviks during the Civil War, and maybe just maybe because the crimes which had followed so soon would never be washed away from her hands. Just then the sound of her Boss clearing his throat snapped the thoughts from Anya's mind.

-xxxx-

Watching his boss as his eyes flicked across the paper Ivan could only imagine what he was thinking especially since such information could be the difference between survival and death for the young Soviet State. Inhaling deeply Ivan allowed himself a quiet sigh,_ The young Soviet State_, he thought, _Why should I even care about it?_ In truth, he didn't, not exactly. In the end the only reason why he, after being captured and abused by the Bolshevik leadership, allowed himself to care for it was because his people lived within it. All the peoples of the Russian Empire now lived within the USSR, and being the strongest and largest of the personifications he could not allow himself to turn his back on them. Even so, warming up to this government had taken a lot of work, the death of Lenin and Trotsky had helped somewhat. The arrests and removal of the original Bolshevik revolutionaries which followed helped even more. After all these men had been criminals who had destroyed his monarchy and society, he would never feel any sympathy for them. Unfortunately though they were not the only ones purged and, as it tends to be in times of upheaval, the innocent suffer more so than the guilty. Even so, Ivan had no other choice, he was needed here and it was here that he would stay. As for Stalin, well the man was a double edged sword. On the one hand he instigated the destruction of the criminal revolutionaries and moved the country away from the insane idea of World Revolution, it was also under his hand that his country began to grow in industry and power. Life was slowly getting better, at least when compared to the insane destruction of the 1920s. Yet, the human cost was also high and the total cost of all what had been happening since 1917 had been staggering and Ivan was sure he would go insane if he truly faced it so soon. Now, with this new war, the casualties would continue to rise until the newest enemy was defeated. _Then maybe we can live in peace._ Sighing again Ivan pushed such thoughts out of his mind. He could not live in the past. What was done is done and he had no other choice but to make the best of it whether he liked it or not.

Done reading Stalin carefully folded the paper and placed it on the desk. Leaning back in his chair the Georgian slowly took up his pipe and began to fill it with tobacco, "It seems that there has been a horrific miscalculation which has endangered the entire Western Front Line. Though I can not imagine how it is possible..." he said, pausing to look over those present. "The thrust of the enemy's forces are ripping through Belarus, yet a majority of our forces are stationed on the Ukraine region." he shook his head and lit his pipe. The pause allowed Ivan to look over the people within the room and another flare up of rage almost burst forth from him. How is it possible indeed! If this continued it would be 1812 all over again, with the enemy at the gates of Moscow, and this time around the Government was not going to be safe in St. Petersburg. Leningrad Ivan reminded himself for the hundredth time, It's called Leningrad now. Glancing at his sister, Ivan was surprised to see that she had gone totally pale, and expression of shock upon her features. "Comrade Stalin, there must be some mistake." she said softly, "All of our strategic planning viewed the Ukraine as the most valuable territory for the Fascists to attack. Its fertile soil and farmland is much too tempting to ignore."

"Even so," Ivan spoke up, interrupting Anya, "information about the German thrust should have been relayed to the Central Command. Corrections should have been made." he balled his hands into fists with frustration, cursing the chaos gripping the country.

Glancing at him Anya swallowed, "Brother, you know that communications are unfortunately limited."

"You mean non-existent." Molotov said interrupting the Russian woman, who nodded nervously, "Yes, practically nonexistent. We can only assume that sabotage has been responsible for its collapse."

Hearing this Beria cleared his throat, "Comrade Stalin, the People's Committee of Internal Affairs has been on a relentless hunt for traitors and saboteurs. This crime will not go unpunished!" he suddenly jumped to his feet. "I shall order the agents to work harder-"

Hearing this Stalin silenced him with a raise of his arm, "Oh do sit down Lavrenti. The last thing we need is your men blustering about." he turned away from the embarrassed chief of the Secret Police and faced the large map of the Soviet Union which hung upon a wall of his office. Puffing silently he inhaled deeply before standing to go to it. "What the enemy wants is obvious..." he muttered. more to himself than anyone else. Anya shrugged, "Anything is possible Comrade Stalin. It should be assumed that Minsk will be taken, though from there the invading troops might go anywhere."

Stalin glanced at her, frowning slightly, "Do not be an idiot Anna Rurikovna." he said "It's obvious that their goal is to take our capital city, hoping we'll capitulate to save it." he traced a path from Minsk to Moscow with his pipe, "The Fascists don't have an imagination." he continued, "It is what they did to the Dutch, the French, and what they are still attempting to do to the English. But-" he turned and pointed the end of his pipe at the four of them, "That strategy will not work on us" he continued, falling into his old habit of lecturing while he explained his thoughts, "Because we will not even allow them to take Minsk. How long will it take to make full contact with the Western Front HQ?"

"Well, that would depend on the situation with our radio and telegraphs." Anya answer before Ivan had a chance to speak, "And with saboteurs working to destroy the lines of communications, especially on the territory of the Ukraine, much harm can be done."

Listening Stalin puffed on his pipe his sharp eyes watching her intently, the look in them making it obvious to Anya that he was calculating how much harm might eventually come about if communications are not put up once more.

Shaking his head the Georgian man went back to his desk and sat back into his chair, "Very well," he said slowly, "What can be done to...recover the situation?"

"It seems to me," Molotov spoke up, "That it would be wise for us here to actually go to see the Central Command HQ, maybe they have some new information which we can use to discuss what steps need to be made."

"I second that suggestion." Anya said, "It is better than sitting here and becoming frustrated while the enemy continues to ravage the peoples and workers of the Soviet State." Frowning Stalin leaned back in his chair and slowly ran his hands over his face, rubbing away the tension as best he could. "Have either one of you contacted your family?" he asked after a moment, sounding tired.

"We have unfortunately been unable to reach Nikolai or Natalia in Belarus, The same is true for Yekaterina and Konstantine on the Ukraine" Anya explained, "Thus I am not sure what has become with them."

Taking a deep breath Ivan did his best to hold back his anger for that very reason. Not knowing what was happening to his siblings was actually starting to drive him up the wall and he knew that if he didn't just bury his emotions in his work he would find it impossible to continue as efficiently as needed.

"Very well." Stalin finally said, "Let us not waste anymore time." he said standing and moving out of his office, followed quickly by the others.

-xxxx-

"The situation at the Front is a difficult one to say the least Comrade Stalin. At the moment, since we have learned of the true measure of attack we have been preparing orders to transfer as many troops from the North-Western and South-Western fronts to fill in the gaps of the Central-Western front."

Watching Marshal Tymoshenko Ivan could not help but feel the last bits of confidence wasting away. It seemed, very much that these so called "Army Men" had done almost nothing to prepare for any war. Glancing at Stalin though, he could also see that this anger was very much brewing within the man's temper.

"And do you feel that such an action would be enough to break the rush of the German forces?" his sister asked, looking over the large map showing the positions and strength of the two armies battling at the front. "Also, what will happen to Leningrad if we take troops from the North."

Glancing at the man Tymoshenko swallowed, "Well, we all feel that it would be more catastrophic to allow the enemy to reach the Capital, therefore we will risk Leningrad for its defense." Anya frowned, but stayed silent. Ivan, also holding his tongue, left the meeting room and eventually the building. Carefully removing a packet of cigarettes from the inner pocket of his military trench coat he attempted to open it with shaking hands; unfortunately he ended up dropping them. Cursing Ivan picked up the pack and swiftly removing a cigarette, suddenly a match appeared for him. Lighting the paper tube Ivan nodded to the security guard who was stationed near Stalin's car. "I take it the situation is quite terrible?" the man asked.

Ivan simply nodded.

"Hm." The man sighed tilting his head back to look up at the night sky, "That's alright." he said, his voice surprisingly calm, "We'll pull through. We always pull through. That is our gift." He chuckled and offered Ivan his hand, "Victor Andreevich Sokolov"

Glancing at it before clasping his hand Ivan shook it, "Ivan Rurikovich Braginsky" he said introducing himself, though the other man laughed, "I know who you are Comrade Braginsky."

Ivan shrugged as inhaled the nicotine laced smoke, "Well, I'm meeting you for the first time."

Just then the double doors to the Military HQ burst open and Stalin stepped out, followed a moment later by Ivan's sister who seemed quite upset.. Seeing the head of state Victor opened the car's door and saluted, "Where to Comrade Stalin?" he asked the Georgian.

Sighing the other man shook his head, "I am tired. Take me to my dacha."

"Right away sir." Victor closed the car's door and smartly made his way to the front of the car.

Watching in silence as the black car moved away from them Ivan turned to his sister, "What are we doing now?"

As a reply Anya shrugged and shook her head, "I don't know."

Frowning Ivan faced her fully, "What do you mean?" he asked, "What were the orders?"

"There were none." Anya replied, curtly, she snatched the cigarette from Ivan's lips and inhaled deeply. "He simply said...'this is the end.' and the left the meeting." She took another long drag before offering the smoke back to her brother who refused it. "We're going to have to figure this out on our own I think." she said, crushing the cigarette under her boot.

Ivan swallowed hard as he looked at the direction Stalin's car had taken, "Well then...we might as well forget about sleep for the time being."


End file.
